


Don't You Remember?

by Nehkles, sarcasmIsOurStrength, WhatABummer



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Amnesia, F/M, Friendship, Memory Loss, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-08-09 20:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7815190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nehkles/pseuds/Nehkles, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarcasmIsOurStrength/pseuds/sarcasmIsOurStrength, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatABummer/pseuds/WhatABummer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick Wilde finally has everything he could ever want. A nice partner, the perfect roommate, and an incredible girlfriend; all in the form of one Judy Hopps. But things can change in an instant. The next thing she knows, Judy finds herself in a hospital bed with a splitting headache and her mind in a fog, not to mention having this weird fox-cop insist that he's her partner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Drive To Remember

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to sarcasmIsOurStrength for the help with editing, as well as the title.
> 
> Zootopia is property of Disney

For Nick Wilde, things really couldn't be going any better right now.

After years of hustling mammals in the city of Zootopia, the crimson vulpine was finally making something of his life. Something good, for a change.

He joined the Zootopia Police Department, despite his shady past. The police academy had been difficult, and not just physically. There were so many different rules and regulations he had know by heart that it made his head spin.

In the end, however, he pulled through. After years of discrimination and hard living, he was finally going to be a part of something - part of a pack.

He'd spent three months being officially employed by the ZPD, and he already had everything he could ever want.

He had the best partner on the force. She was smart, perceptive, and a joy to be around.

He had a quality roommate who always payed their half of the rent on time, kept the noise down, and enjoyed watching movies on Saturday nights.

Best of all though he had an incredible girlfriend, who was funny, beautiful, and without a doubt the most incredible mammal he'd ever met.

All of this and more was one Judy Hopps.

When he first met her, he thought of her as nothing more than a dumb, naive bunny who would go hopping back to whatever little Podunk burrow she crawled out of the second she figured out what she really was; a blindly optimistic and over-zealous little fluff-ball who was overdue for a major crash-and-burn.

But instead of letting the truth of the world drag her down like it had done to him, she shocked him by pulling him out of the void instead. That crazy gray rabbit was able to show him that he was more than just some shifty hustler. She taught him that it didn't matter what other mammals thought of him, the only thing that mattered was what he thought of himself.

After the fiasco that had been the missing mammals case turned crime drama, he realized that he didn't like the kind of work he was doing.

Sure, he made good money as a hustler. Making two hundred bucks a day for twenty years had certainly made his bank account larger than he would ever need it to be, but the issue was that he embodied the sly fox stereotype, making everyone else think of him as dangerous and untrustworthy. That was the original point though, since back then he saw no reason in trying to singlehandedly change the world's prejudices.

But she made him think differently. For the past three months, he's been nothing but a model cop, though still earning the occasional sideways look from some of the more bigoted onlookers. But none of that mattered to him. He knew what he was and wanted to be; a good cop.

Though Judy was definitely a better one. She was more driven, since this was her childhood dream and all. Currently, said rabbit was sitting in the passenger seat of their cruiser, going over all of the stops they had made during their patrol on the cruiser's laptop. Nick was driving, keeping his eyes on the road as they headed back to the precinct, only taking the occasional quick glance at his partner.

 _'God, she's so cute when she's concentrating hard like that.'_ Nick thought to himself. The way her nose twitched as she browsed the screen was absolutely adorable. Before her, he'd never been able to find members of a different species attractive, except for maybe the occasional wolf or coyote if they had the right features. Though at first, he had to admit that she was at least _cute_ , but he had chalked that up to just being a "bunny thing."

Now, however, he was downright astounded at how gorgeous she was. Her violet eyes were shining bright thanks to the laptop screen, and her mouth twitched into a small smile every now and again. He fell in love with her mind first, and as time went on, her body followed.

"Hey Nick?" she said, her eyes glued on the laptop.

"What's up, Carrots?" he replied, still keeping his eyes on the road.

"That zebra we pulled over around noon seemed a little jittery, don't you think?"

Nick quickly recalled the striped equine they'd pulled over earlier that day. He certainly had been a bit more twitchy around them than the average driver they stopped. Nick didn't think anything of it at the time, so it was strange to hear her talking about it now.

"Yeah, I guess. Why? You pull up anything interesting on him?"

"No, the guy has a clean record, just found it a little odd. You have any idea what the reason could be?" she asked, turning to face him.

While Judy knew every rule in the book like the back of her paw, Nick occasionally needed to refresh himself on certain rules and regulations, as he could never remember them all. He made up for this though with his many years of experience living on the opposite side of the law. It's part of what made the two of them such an effective team. She had the book smarts, while he had the street smarts.

"He didn't seem very off to me." He said with a shake of his head. "I didn't smell anything on him, so he definitely wasn't a junkie. Probably just nervous. After all, you said he had a clean record, so it was probably the first time he'd been pulled over."

Judy just nodded, and turned her attention back to the laptop screen. It really was an odd question to ask this late in the day, but that was just the kind of mammal she was. She always wanted to enforce the law to the best of her ability, whenever and wherever she could. That also meant tracking down a zebra she thought was suspicious several hours after they'd met, if it came down to it.

"So, you have any plans for the night?" Nick asked as he stopped at a red light and turned to face her.

"Get home and crawl into bed. It's been a long shift, and I might have to lay in bed our entire day off tomorrow." she groaned. She wasn't wrong. Doing nothing but patrolling the streets all day with no real excitement would bore anyone to death.

"Oh, I don't think I'd mind if we wasted the whole day in bed." he said, now looking at her with a sly grin. She turned away from the laptop, looking at him with an annoyed expression.

"Nick, we talked about this. We have to be serious when we're on duty."

When they first revealed their feelings to each other, they were a bit stressed out on what the situation at work would be regarding their partnership. There weren't any rules against officers dating each other, but it often times lead to them being placed in different departments, or even entire precincts. It didn't help that having two partners dating was almost unheard of. To make sure they continued to work together, they told Chief Bogo about it first thing in the morning. The cape buffalo was a bit surprised to find two of his best officers entering into a relationship, but none the less allowed it to happen. The only condition was that they maintained a serious attitude on duty, and wouldn't let anything that happens in their personal lives interfere with their professional ones.

That of course meant no flirting on duty.

"Well, if you'll look at the time, Carrots, you'll find that our shift ended five minutes ago." he said, his smirk growing.

She looked over at the clock to see that the time was now 11:05. When she turned back to him with her own sly grin, his heart started racing, and his tail began wagging slightly.

"In that case, I think we could afford to _relax_ on our day off." she said smoothly, leaning in towards him.

"Oh yeah? What about tonight though?" he said, starting to close the distance between them.

To his massive disappointment, she lost her playful expression, replacing it with a woeful, tired one as she leaned back in her seat. He always hated it when she played with him like this, but considering the amount of times he's done it to her, he should expect her to retaliate every now and again.

"I'm afraid I'm just too tired tonight, Slick. Wouldn't be surprised if I keeled over the second we walk in the door." Judy exagerated with a small smirk. He gave her an annoyed look, like the one she'd given him earlier, and he gave off a light grunt.

"Oh, and the light's green now." she stated, pointing to the road ahead of them.

He snapped his neck forward, seeing that the light was in fact telling him to move along. He was lucky the roads were as empty as they were right now, otherwise he would've definitely gotten honked at, and he absolutely hated it when that happened. He'd lived in the city all his life, and still he was never fully used to the traffic.

"Thanks." he grumbled, and she responded with a light chuckle.

"Anytime."

They were only around twenty minutes out from Precinct One now, and while crime in this area was lower than in any other part of the city, it certainly wasn't non-existent. Being technically off duty didn't relieve them of responding to any crimes they saw themselves, but lucky for them, the streets seemed to be fairly empty tonight.

"I heard Ben let our little secret slip out again. Who'd he tell this time?" Nick asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Francine apparently. They were talking down in Records and he 'accidentally' mentioned us as a couple." she said, making air quotes with her fingers.

Nick let out a sigh. How that cheetah found out about the two of them, he would never know. After they had first finished talking with Bogo about their relationship, they'd found Clawhauser practically bouncing up and down as he told the news to Fangmeyer. Luckily, he was the only one the cheetah told, and Judy was able to get them to both swear not to tell anyone.

Of course, what with Clawhauser being Clawhauser, he sometimes couldn't keep the dirty little secrets he knew to himself, and ended up blabbering to someone. So far he'd managed to let it slip to Wolford, McHorn, and now Francine.

"Did he at least tell her to keep it a secret?" Nick asked. If news of them out to the precinct, or even worse, the news, they would never hear the end of it.

Interspecies relationships weren't looked favorably upon by everyone in Zootopia. The majority of mammals didn't seem to mind it, but there was a very vocal minority that constantly spoke out against anything or anyone related to it. The last thing they wanted was to be harassed by mammals who saw them dating as "impure" or "unnatural" or whatever else they called them. Just because something doesn't occur in nature doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing.

Take Judy for instance. Bunnies weren't exactly the most intimidating animals alive, so many back in her hometown thought of her wanting to be a cop as unnatural. But just look at her now. She was practically the face of the ZPD, along with a certain fox partner of hers. Some people even saw their partnership as going against nature. Back in ancient times, the rabbit was one of the favorite meals of the fox, but now of course the two species lived in relative harmony. Nick and Judy had their differences sure, but they made it work fantastically, with each of them balancing out the others weaknesses.

"That's what McHorn told me. At least everyone else knows how to keep their mouths shut." she huffed as she closed the laptop.

They stayed quiet for any couple of minutes. Nick occasional peeked over at Judy, who was watching the streetlights go past as they drove down the road. Just like he'd thought earlier, she looked stunning.

"Nick?" she eventually said.

"Yeah, Fluff?" he responded.

"I want to tell my parents about us soon."

He tensed up upon hearing this. While he'd already met her parents, and they'd seemed like lovely mammals at the time, he was still worried about telling them that their daughter crawled into bed every night with a fox. Judy had told him that they were the ones that had gotten her that fox repellant, apparently even pushing for her to bring a fox taser along as well. He actually found that part funny, as it seemed unlikely that a taser would effect foxes more than any other mammal close to that size. He knew that they'd come a long way, even starting a little business partnership with a fox back in their hometown, according to Judy. Still, he was nervous about it. He had a better gauge on how his own parents would react. His mom would likely be a bit skeptical, but she had always supported him. He didn't have that great of an idea on how his dad would react though, as any topic related to interspecies couples had never came up when he was around. Nick was pretty sure he was against it though.

"I don't know, Judy. Are you sure they'd be okay with us?" he asked, sending her another quick glance.

"I… really don't know to be honest. I just..." She let out a long sigh. "I don't want us to have to hide this forever. I want to be able to snuggle up to my sly fox in public, not keep him at a respectable distance." she said, placing her left paw on the center console. He moved his right paw to grab hers, stroking it softly with his thumb as he drove.

"And I want to be able to hold my dumb little bunny as close as I can, but I just feel like we need to wait for the right time. We have no idea how they're going to react to all this. It's not like we have a storybook romance after all." he said, giving her paw a light squeeze.

He wasn't wrong about how strange their relationship had been. When they first met, they hated each other's guts, but were forced to work together thanks to Judy's very effective tactic of threatening him with federal tax evasion, if only he'd known back then that she couldn't do squat about that on her own. During that whole Nighthowler fiasco, he'd opened up to her in a way that he hadn't done with anyone, and they each got a deeper understanding about the others lives and experiences. They'd gotten to know each other even better during the six months between the arrest of Bellweather, and Nick joining the academy. It took quite a long time to clear up everything about Nick's past with the ZPD, but he was eventually admitted. Another six months later, and they where partners on the force.

Go forward another month, and you'd find each of them starting to realize that they thought of their partner as more than just a friend. Each of them concealed it in their own way, with Nick just hiding it behind his usually carefree attitude, while Judy did her best to avoid getting into extremely close quarters with the fox.

Jump ahead yet another month, and you'd find the two of them in their apartment, each of them having had a few beers to help loosen their lips. Judy had let her little secret slip first, and thought she was about to die of embarrassment, but to her incredible relief, Nick shared her feelings.

And here they are now, a couple for a little over a month, each of them having no plans to let the other go anywhere else anytime soon.

"I know. It just gets so exhausting, hiding everything we do together. It's hard to even have a normal date night." Judy said, returning his squeeze.

Whenever they went out to dinner, or took a walk in a park, or did anything else where they were in very close proximity to each other, they would always gather a few stares. They never payed that much attention to it, but on rare occasions a mammal would throw them a slur as they walked past.

"Hey, it's alright. We have each other for now. We won't keep them in the dark forever." Nick said, giving her a soft smile and another quick glance, before releasing her paw.

He turned his attention back to the road, starting through an intersection with a light green. He heard the sound of Judy's seatbelt unbuckling, and soon felt a small peck on his right cheek. He glanced over to see Judy, kneeling on her seat, her paws reaching over the center console onto his arm, and a soft, loving smile on her face. She didn't really need to go through the trouble of unbuckling her seatbelt to show him some affection, but he had to admit it was nice having her so close. He wouldn't be able to feel her breath blowing against his muzzle otherwise. He had only been looking at her for a few seconds now, but still her gesture spoke volumes.

She loved him.

And he loved her.

Sadly though, a few seconds is all it takes to change everything.

When she moved back into her seat, reaching for her seatbelt, Nick was still looking at her. Another driver, apparently in such a rush that they forgot that other people use roads too, came speeding through the intersection, trying to beat the red light. Nick saw the headlights only for a fraction of a millisecond, much less than the time he would need to react.

He wasn't exactly sure how it all happened. He remembered the car beginning to spin violently, and as he attempted to regain control, they jerked to a halt. As Nick came to, he was very disoriented, but was able to see that their cruiser had somehow been pinned to a street light. He also notice the lack of windshield on the car now, and the bits of glass scattered around the hood.

_'Judy.'_

He looked to his right to find the passenger seat empty, the seatbelt still hanging on the side.

"Judy?!" he yelled, looking around to try and find where the small rabbit had gone. He couldn't see anyone in the streets, or anything that even resembled his bunny.

He opened the cruiser's door, taking note of the pang of slight pain in his right leg as he walked. As he limped forward in front of the cruiser, he found her.

Lying still on the ground, a nasty gash on the top of her head, and small pool of blood around her.

His heart sank.


	2. Awoken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the hits and kudos after only one chapter. It really makes me want to keep writing this.
> 
> Zootopia is property of Disney

Judy could tell something was wrong when she finally came to. Not only did her head feel like someone had been nailing it with a jackhammer, but her surroundings were off as well.

She was laying in a bed, but it was not her own. The fabric of the blanket wasn't the same, and it wasn't anywhere near as comfy. Instead of her pajamas, she wore a scratchy white gown, along with some kind of orange band on her left wrist. She heard the rhythmic beep of a heart monitor, as well as a buzz coming from the rooms lights. Replacing her room's quaint, cozy walls were white, sterile ones with a window on her right, letting in the blinding sunlight.

The view of the outside world only made her more confused. She'd been to the Burrow's hospital only a couple times in her life, but she could still tell that this was not it. The quiet countryside and small town was replaced by towering skyscrapers, some of them displaying different types of ads or promotions.

 _'Alright, so this definitely isn't Bunny Burrow. Where am I?'_ she thought, sitting up in the bed and looking around. Immediately she regretted that decision as it made the construction worker in her head start hammering harder. She noticed an IV leading fluids into her left arm.

So an uncomfortable gown, heart monitor, and now an IV. _  
_

She was in a hospital, obviously.

 _'Alright, good. Got that squared away'_ she thought. But why? The last thing she remembered was being back at home, helping out her parents on the farm. She was waiting to hear back from her application to the ZPD. What had happened?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door on the left side of the room opening, a female cougar in blue hospital scrubs entered, staring down at the clipboard in her hands. She was muttering something to herself as she walked, stopping a few feet from Judy's bed, and putting the clipboard at her side.

When she laid her eyes on Judy, they widened and she gained a shocked expression on her face.

"Oh… um, hello." the cougar said, seemingly shocked that she was moving at all.

"Hi." Judy responded quietly, not quite sure what to say. No cougars lived in the Burrows that she knew of, so she was definitely somewhere else. If the skyscrapers weren't enough of a clue, this definitely was.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in Zootopia General Hospital ma'am. You were in an accident." the feline told her as she slowly backed up. "Let me just go get the doctor, and we can get you caught up."

"Wait, I'm in Zootopia? Wha… what happened?"

"We'll explain everything to you in a moment Officer Hopps. Just wait a moment, I will fetch the doctor." the nurse said as she opened the door, and quickly slipped out of sight.

_'Officer?'_

* * *

"Wilde!"

Nick turned around from his desk to see Wolford standing in the doorway, having changed into his more casual clothes.

"What's up?" Nick replied.

"Fang and I were about to head out to Duffy's and grab a drink. You wanna tag along?" the wolf said, gesturing towards the door.

"No thanks. Got too much work to do." He gestured behind him and turned back to face his desk, covered in mountains of papers for the Chief to review.

Since the accident, his work has steadily been piling up. Bogo had given him a few days off to recuperate after all that he'd been through, but when he came back his work ethic was next to none. It wasn't about what had happened to _him_ , of course. His leg had received a few cuts and bruises from the crash, but he was perfectly fine now.

But he didn't care about his damn leg.

He cared about his bunny that had been in a coma for the past two weeks.

"Alright, man. See ya." Wolford said, then headed out of sight.

Nick kept his focus on his computer, as well as the stack of papers sitting on his left. If he hadn't been so out of it the last few days, his workload wouldn't be nearly as large as it was now.

Truth be told though, he was kind of glad for the ocean of papers currently covering his desk. It helped him take his mind off Judy, even if only for awhile. She would've wanted him to keep fighting the good fight, even if she wasn't around to do it with him, so that's exactly what he was doing.

Well, at least for now. That first, miserable week after the accident he was an absolute mess. After his short break (which had even been extended by Bogo, out of either sympathy or pity), he came back to work with spirits so low that other officers could have _sworn_ that the room physically got darker when he walked in. He didn't go out in the field during this time, due his lack of a partner, but was still expected to perform duties at the precinct. Luckily that meant he could wear his favorite clothes when he went to work, instead of that uniform, even though Judy always said it made him look handsome.

When he actually started to make some progress on anything, his mind somehow always slipped back to thoughts of Judy's helpless body being violently ejected out the front windshield, her head helping smash the glass open, or her body lying motionless in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask strapped around her face. As much as he knew he needed to get work done, he just couldn't take it.

For the first few days afterwards, he wouldn't leave her side. Eventually though, after endless complaints by the hospital staff, Bogo _ordered_ him to go home, clean up, and stay out of their way for awhile. It was a good thing her parents hadn't shown up until after he left, otherwise he would've placed himself in a very awkward situation, having to explain why he was sticking so close to their daughter.

He returned that evening though, and still went to visit her in the hospital every night. She wasn't the most engaging of company, but it still calmed his nerves when he knew she was safe and recovering. The gash on her head had already started to heal, and the fur around it had began to grow back. He'd brought some flowers for her one night, a combination of purple bellflowers and some green orchids, and placed them on the nightstand near her bed. She would've liked them, after she told him how cheesy it was of him to bring her flowers that matched their eye colors, and they stayed by her side throughout every one of his visits.

He'd tell her about how he was doing when he was there, always letting out a small chuckle at how strange it was for him to be talking to a mammal that couldn't even hear him. Whenever he was about to leave, he always considered giving her a quick nuzzle, just so he could have the scent of her on him to give him a little peace as he traveled home. So far, he'd decided against it every time; instead just giving her a small kiss on the cheek or forehead. He was concerned he might do something to her if he put too much force into it, and with the amount of nuzzling he wanted to do, he decided it would be best for her if he restrained himself.

Sleeping had been very illusive for Nick recently. The empty space in his bed where his bun should be did nothing to help him doze off, and filling it with a pillow just felt wrong. Luckily no nightmares were had when he finally did drift off into slumber, but it was always a restless sleep, and he always woke up tired and groggy.

 _'Focus on your work. Getting behind on it won't help anyone.'_ he thought.

How did he get to this place? He was slowly chipping away at a tower of paper, with bags under his eyes, trying to forget how the one mammal he really cared about was hurt, and he could do nothing about it. If his old self could see what he was doing, he would've told him to just bottle up and ignore his feelings. He still was saying that to himself, but the version of Nick that Judy had helped kill would've actually listened.

They'd only been dating for a month, but Nick already knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted to wake up every morning and help make the world a better place with his partner. He wanted to come home and cook dinner with his roommate, maybe plop down on the couch and watch a little tv afterwards. He wanted to fall asleep with his girlfriend, who was no doubt the love of his life, wrapped up in his arms, safe and warm.

He just wanted Judy back.

He was suddenly aware of the quick, loud footsteps coming from the hallway, getting louder as they approached his door.

As the volume of the steps reached it's peak, Nick saw Clawhauser rush through the door, gasping for air as he tried to speak.

"… Nick…" he managed to say before resuming his heavy breathing.

Clawhauser sometimes had a habit of making something small and insignificant seem like the most important thing in the world. He hoped now wasn't one of those times, as he still had far too much work left to do.

"What, Ben?" he asked, with a sigh.

"… She's… awake." he quickly huffed, then took several deep breaths.

"WHAT!" Nick yelled at the top of his lungs, attracting the attention of most of the other officers in the room. He moved out of his chair at lightning speed. "I've got to go see her! I-I need to..."

"Wait!" the cheetah said, putting up a paw, his breathing now normalized.

"She's… different."

* * *

 _'I'm a cop. A **real** cop...'_ Judy thought to herself. It had been her childhood dream, and it had become a reality, just like that.

She had joined the force, and apparently not only solved fifteen missing mammal cases all at once, but managed to expose a plot to from the mayor to control all the predators in the city.

She had a partner. A fox, of all things. The doctor had told her that he came to visit her every night, like clockwork, and had refused to leave her until the chief made him go. He even left her the flowers on her bedside table, a vibrant mixture of purple and green. Bellflowers and green geisha orchids, she thinks they're called. This fox clearly cared a lot for her, but she couldn't remember anything about him.

Even his name was lost to her.

She was surprised the ZPD had even paired them up, considering the history between the two species. Not that she was against working with a fox, it was just… surprising. But she couldn't keep from wondering about how was he going to react to his partner not being able to remember a thing about him.

Two whole years of her life were gone, all in the blink of an eye. She didn't have any recollection of her time as a cop, or of anyone she'd met in Zootopia. It was daunting. So many experiences and memories that she could never relive.

Well, that wasn't entirely true.

The doctor had told her that it is possible for some memories to just kind of… reappear later on. It wasn't a guarantee, however. Even if she regained some of her memories, it was highly likely that she would never get all of them back.

The official report said that they were driving back to Precinct One, had passed an intersection, and been struck by a reckless driver. She had been thrown through the windshield, which was evidently the cause of her nasty headache and lack of memories, while the fox had received a small injury on his right leg. Apparently, he also practiced first aid on her at the scene of the crash despite some blood loss and disorientation.

Again though, he was a fox. She would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little nervous. Back in the Burrows, a fox had clawed her in the face when she was nine, further strengthening her resolve to become a cop, but making her parents much more prejudiced against foxes. But Gideon was just a jerk, there's no way this fox was anything like him if he was her partner.

And speak of the devil, it seemed that he might be there soon. Her head had cleared up a bit, thanks to a few painkillers, and she was able to hear outside of the room much better now. She heard two pairs of footsteps walking towards her room, stopping just outside her door.

"Just be aware, Officer Wilde, she's suffering from post-traumatic amnesia. With the amount of head trauma she endured, we're surprised she has any memories left at all", said a voice she recognized as the cougar nurse.

"Well, she always was the toughest bunny out there. Is she awake?", replied a smooth male voice.

"Last we checked, she was. You can see her now, if you'd like."  
There was a brief pause, as this new voice seemed to be thinking over his options.

"Yeah, let's do it."

The door opened, and the cougar stepped through.

"Officer Hopps, you have a visitor." she said, stepping aside to reveal a red fox behind her.

He didn't look like Gideon at all. He was a tiny bit taller than her old bully had been, probably around four feet tall. His fashion choice was certainly better, even though his green floral pattern shirt was a little tacky. It was certainly bounds better that Gideon's denim overalls, though. He was also much more slim and seemed to be more muscular. It made sense, as cops had to be in peak physical condition to do the kind of work they did. She actually surprised herself by having some part in the back of her mind thinking that the fox looked rather good.

"Hey, Carr- Judy. How're you feeling?" the fox asked, as he seemed to almost wince when he nearly called her something else.

"Better." she replied, a little nervous, but the fox seemed to be nervous as well. "You're my partner on the ZPD, right?"

He began slowly walking towards her bed, sending her brain signals of "run," "threat," and "predator." She tried her best to get those thoughts out of her mind, as they would do her no good. This was her partner. He wouldn't hurt her, right?

"Yeah, yeah, that's me. I'm Nick. Nick Wilde." he said extending his right paw. She concentrated with all her might not to hesitate, and shook his paw.

"And I'm Judy. Well, I guess you already know that, actually." she said with a small chuckle. Nick responded with his own, though the way his deep emerald eyes darted to and fro made it feel like it wasn't all that genuine. It died very quickly after it started. His eyes continued to dart quickly around the room, but he then shook his head, putting on a much more cool, relaxed expression, and pulled up a chair and sat down next to her bed.

"So, the doctors tell me your memories are being a bit elusive right now... How're you holding up?

"Okay, I guess. I'm just surprised is all. It's a lot to take in." she said.

"Well, you've certainly been through a lot recently. It's fine, Carrots. Don't stress yourself out." He said with a small, sympathetic smile.

"Um, excuse me?" she asked. She was a little bit offended by the nickname, but it seemed that this fox knew her rather well, so hopefully he had a good reason for it.

"Oh, sorry." His expression fell. "That's just a nickname I have for you. Gave it to you around the time we met. You didn't seem to like it back then either, so I kept calling you that and it just kinda stuck." he stammered, seemingly wanting to clear up any misconceptions.

"Alright. Uh, how did we meet?" she asked. She wanted to get some idea of what her life had been like these past two years.

"I was running a pawpsicle stand. You came up to me one day, and we just kinda hit it off... Well, not really. I don't think we were very fond of each other at first." he said with a small, weary smile. He looked like he hadn't slept the whole two years she had forgotten.

"Oh, you mean we didn't meet on the force? We knew each other beforehand?"

"Well yeah... Er, kind of. You..." He paused, looking up at her with wide eyes, filled with a thinly masked sadness. "You don't remember anything about us?"

"I mean... no. I'm sorry, I just... can't." she said apologetically. She didn't want to hurt him, but she was just speaking the truth.

Unfortunetly, he did seem to be pained by what she said. He leaned back in his chair, drew a deep breath and let his eyes dart around the room once more.

 _'This is really upsetting him. We must've been really good...'_ her thoughts were interrupted by a buzzing sound coming from inside Nick's pockets. He reached down and pulled his phone out, quickly eyeing the message.

"Oh, uh... I should probably take this. You don't mind if I step out do you?" he asked, eyes still stained by sadness and lack of sleep.

"No, no, go ahead. Not like I can go anywhere." she said, earning a light chuckle from him.

"Alright. I'll be back in a sec." he made his way towards the door, but quickly turned around before he left. "It's good to see you're okay, Carrots." he said, relaxing a little, then walked out of sight.

Physically, she was fine. The headache would eventually fade with enough time and a few more painkillers. Mentally, though, she was practically a new person... Or an old one, as it were.

Sure, her personality remained the same, her thoughts, her dreams.

But her experiences? They were severely set back.

One other thought lingered in her mind, though.

_'Is he going to be okay?'_

* * *

Thank God Clawhauser had texted him asking about Judy when he did. Nick would've had to explain to his amnesia stricken girlfriend why he was in the middle of a breakdown otherwise.

The fox was currently speed-walking his way towards the bathroom. He didn't want anyone to see this. Someone might tell Judy, and then she'd be wondering why he was acting this way.

 _'You idiot! This is all your fault! If you just hadn't been so… so…'_ He didn't really know how to describe it. Comforting? Supportive? Whatever he'd been, it was the reason she'd unbuckled her seatbelt in the first place. This wasn't the first time in the past two weeks he'd blamed himself for what happened, and it wasn't likely to be the last either

He entered the bathroom, first making sure it was empty, before moving up to the sink and resting both his arms on the side,bawling his eyes out.

The woman he loved more than anything in this world now had no idea who he was.


	3. Welcome Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usual thanks to sarcasmIsOurStrength.
> 
> Zootopia is property of Disney

"Alright, here we are." Nick said with a wave of his arm, turning the doorknob to reveal the inside of the apartment. Their apartment. He was a bit nervous about bringing Judy back, but she seemed to be keeping an open mind, what with all that had happened.

Judy walked inside, her eyes moving left and right, trying to take in any little details she could. He eyed her while she did this, hoping that his little clean up job had done the trick.

The past week had been, at best, rough for Nick. The love of his life couldn't remember a thing about him after she finally woke up, and to make matters worse he had to put on a happy face whenever any of his coworkers asked him about her.

So he'd devolved back to his old con-mammal ways, hiding his emotions behind a carefully constructed mask and running through the same old tired routine of "She's doing great"; "She'll be back to work in no time", and any other little comforts he could think up while being eaten with grief, worry and regret from the inside out.

He'd gone back to visit her more since she woke up, telling her a bit more about himself, where he came from, who his family was. Thankfully she seemed very engaged in listening to him, and hopefully she was going to make an effort to get to know him outside of work

Speaking of work, Chief Bogo came to visit her a few time, but it was mostly all about work. After basic introductions (where Judy was extremely respectful, even more so than usual) he told her that she'd have a week off to get ready to return to work, at which point Nick would continue to re-train her.

Leaving the bunny suffering from memory loss with the fox who was in love with her to show her how to be a cop again? What a great plan.

Not that Nick didn't _want_ to be around Judy, he did more than anything. He was very concerned about how they would act around each other. Their "first" encounter at the hospital was awkward, as he didn't really know what to say half the time after his little breakdown in the bathroom. Luckily since then, their encounters had been better. Brief and simple, but still better.

When Judy had finally been cleared for release by the hospital, he had to go through all the trouble of redecorating their apartment to seem like two friends had been living there, rather than two lovers. Any pictures that showed the two of them doing anything other than strictly platonic activities were moved down to storage. Additionally, he had to make sure that the apartment didn't smell compromising.

When they'd first moved in together (not too long after the Bellweather's arrest) they had agreed on a sleeping arrangement. They couldn't afford to get the biggest apartment, so the one they ended up in only had one bedroom and one bath, but it did come with a pull-out sofa. Nick insisted that Judy take the bedroom at the time, claiming that as a woman, she had the right to a bit more privacy than he did. When they started dating though, Judy made Nick stop using the couch, preferring the warm embrace of her fox to the slight increase in privacy, not that it mattered to her anymore.

If she came home and smelled the bed, she would be able to notice the very distinct fragrance of their two scents mixing. They didn't mind it before the accident. It reminded them of each other, and Nick had used the aroma to help keep himself sane while she was in the hospital. To combat the scent, Nick drenched the mattress in disinfectant spray, washed the sheets and then aired out the room. When all was said and done, he couldn't pick up the scent of anything other than fake flowers.

He hated it.

But it was something he had to do. He was barely holding it together with Judy right now as is. He wouldn't be able to handle her outright rejecting him, so he had to make sure to hide his true feelings. Nick at the very, very least wanted Judy to become his friend again. If he could do that, maybe they'll become good friends, possibly even best friends again later on.

But being what they once were? More than partners? More than friends?

He didn't think that could ever happen again. He'd just gotten lucky enough the first time. What were the odds that a bunny would ever be attracted to a fox? Sure, she was before, but she'd told him that her admiration for him started out the same way as his. Platonic at first, but as they got to know each other more, her feelings for him gradually grew. The countless times they'd bonded and saved one another's' lives probably didn't hurt anything either. But if she couldn't remember anything about him, than any attraction towards him would also be gone.

_'Just get a part of what you had back. You can at least live with that.'_

"Nick?"

He was brought out of his trance, realizing he was staring at the floor, and that Judy had said something to him. She was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, what's up?" he asked after shaking his head clear.

"Where do you sleep? I only see one bedroom in here." she said, pointing down the very short hallway that lead to her room.

"Oh, the couch pulls out into a bed." he responded.

"Really? You sleep on the couch? Why didn't we get a place with two bedrooms?"

"I like to blame you for that, actually. I was more than willing to pay a bit more than you for the rent, but you were insistent that we each paid exactly half. This place fit the bill, and left you with a little spending money left over at the end of each month."

"But doesn't the couch hurt your back? Sleeping on that thing for over a year couldn't have been good for it."

 _'Not for that whole time, I haven't'_ Nick thought, but quickly cleared his mind of that thought, getting back to Judy's question.

"You get used to it after a while. I prefer things a little more firm, anyway. But, other than the whole bed situation, what do you think of the place?" he asked, gesturing to the whole room.

Her eyes moved around the apartment once again. They scanned over the small kitchen in the far right corner, as well as the table to it's left. The walls were covered in this weird tan wallpaper, while the floors had carpet around the couch, and ceramic tiles in the kitchen.

"It's pretty nice, actually. Very cozy. What's the rent?" she asked, looking at Nick.

"Uh… you know how I said you had a little spending money? I did mean a little. You might want to sit down for this." he said with a small smirk. She rolled her eyes in response.

His smirk calmed into a normal smile. He was already starting to annoy her.

_'It's not much, but it's a start.'_

* * *

_'Let's see. "Officer Bentley discovers a car well above regulation size parking in the rodent lane. What is the fine for such an incident, and what would the punishment be for five repeat offenses?" Huh…'_ Judy thought as she rubbed her chin, thinking over what she'd already covered.

She was sitting on the couch now, reading through some of the questions in one of her police textbooks. Nick had picked a few up for her back while she was still in the hospital, as he was going to be the one to re-train her for the ZPD. She was very grateful that they weren't going to fire her or put her on an "extended leave of absence" or anything. It must've been a sign of how effective she'd been as an officer, so she didn't want to let anyone at the precinct down.

 _'The fine would be forty-five dollars on the first, and every subsequent violation would increase the fine by ten. After five offenses, the vehicle is liable to be towed, in addition to the fine. Now let's find out if…'_ She turned the pages back to the glossary, which revealed the answers. She was right on the money.

"Yes!" she yelled audibly. She didn't care if she was being loud. Nick was out getting groceries, and getting that question right made that the third quiz in the book she'd gotten 100% on. She was going to know everything in those books like the back of her paw, even if it took up all of her free time.

As she settled in to start reading the next chapter, she heard the tumblers in the front door's lock begin to turn, and soon the door opened to reveal Nick, with several paper grocery bags in his arms.

"I hear an excited bunny." he said, teasing slightly as he closed the door with his foot, and moved towards the kitchen. "Still studying up?"

"Yep! Just aced the third quiz in a row." she said with a little smug in her voice, earning a chuckle from Nick.

"Well, you _were_ valedictorian of your class. I doubt you managed that feat without a few long nights spent studying." he said, placing the bags on the counter.

"I was valedictorian? That's nice to hear. What about you? We were in a different class, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, we were. I was, oh, somewhere in the top ten. Not the best, but certainly not the worst."

She shook her head lightly at Nick's words. He seemed like an okay guy so far. Came off as a little lazy at times, but it wasn't her place to judge. He'd come to visit her at least once a day in the hospital, and always brought something to try and jog her memory. Once it was a carrot pen, another time it was a red handkerchief and another was her badge. So far none if it had helped, but it was still interesting to hear about the kinds of things she got herself into these past two years. He'd kept fairly quiet on what the importance of the pen and handkerchief were, but he told her a lot about the little misadventures they'd gotten themselves into while on the force. His face was always much brighter when he talked about the two of them, and he was starting to look like he was getting a bit more sleep. He still had some visible bags under his eyes, but she hoped those would go away eventually. That weird part in the back of her mind had told her that Nick actually looked kind of cute when he was telling stories about them. Their other conversations so far had consisted of basic introductions, a few likes and dislikes, and a bit of backstory on who they were.

For instance, He was Nicholas Piberius Wilde. He was a red fox (obviously) who had lived in Zootopia all his life. His parents were Vivian and John Wilde. They were divorced, but still each found time for him as a kit. His favorite food was blueberries, his least favorite was tofu, and he had a very strange fascination with selfies for someone who was in their thirties.

When he first told her that they were roommates, as well as partners, she was a bit nervous. Working with a fox was one thing, but living with one? That was a little more surprising. As new as this all seemed to her, she still tried to keep an open mind. If her old self had decided to live with Nick, then how bad could it be? Besides, so far all the other officers who'd came to visit her had told her the same thing, so obviously he wasn't lying to her.

The chubby cheetah, Benjamin Clawhauser, was very nice when he came visit. The way he acted around her suggested that they were also good friends, judging by the way he always made little callbacks to things they'd done in the past. She didn't remember any of them of course, but she still enjoyed hearing about them. In addition to that, she'd received visits from a wolf named Wolford, a rhino named McHorn, an elephant named Francine Trunkaby, and a tiger named Fangmeyer. There seemed to be a lot of predators on the ZPD.

She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little anxious about it, but she knew nothing bad would happen to her at the precinct. The only thing she had to fear, was fear itself.

As Nick began to put away the groceries, Judy returned to her textbook, reading through the next chapter.

_'Okay, "Behavior of Officers." Let's see what you have to show me. "As an officer of the law, you are there to serve the needs of the everyday citizen. It's important to always be polite, courteous, articulate, and…'_

Something suddenly clicked in her mind, like a mass of neurons deep in the back of her brain had been opened and spewed forth random images, sounds, and smells.

_There was Nick, standing in front of her holding an enormous red popsicle, a small kit in some kind of elephant onesie behind him. He was wearing that same floral pattern shirt he seemed to enjoy so much, as well as the tie that went along with it. She was in a police uniform, as well as a bowler hat and a reflective vest. Things were faded, and the images didn't always have movement to them, but she could still make out what was happening._

" _I just want to say you're a great dad, and just a… a real articulate fella." she heard her voice say cheerily._

" _Oh, well that is high praise." Nick's voice began. "It's rare that I find someone so non-patronizing."_

The images faded, returning Judy to where she was in the real world. Sitting on the couch in her apartment, her roommate, partner, and apparent friend in the kitchen.

"I… remembered something."

"Huh?" she heard Nick say from the kitchen.

"I remembered something!" she yelled, jumping off the couch, her textbook dropping unceremoniously on the floor beside her.

"Seriously?" he said, and quickly moved over to the couch. "What is it?"

"I was in a uniform, and some kind of vest. You were holding a this big, popsicle thing, and you had a kid with you! I said something about you being a great dad?" she said, and gave him a questionable look. "You never told me you were a father."

"That's because I'm not, Carrots. That was my pal Finnick, this fennec fox I knew. He was just… dressing up."

" _Dressing up_? Really? And Why were you holding a giant popsicle?" she said as she crossed her arms.

"Well, I've never been one to lie to you, at least not recently, so sit down and I'll tell you the whole story." he said, and he moved over to the couch. She quickly followed. He took a deep breath and then began to speak.

"That was when we first met. I was trying to buy a jumbo-pop from an elephant who didn't seem that fond of having me in his store. You were kind enough to convince him to sell me one by threatening him with a code three health violation."

"What? I did?" she asked.

"Sure did, Carrots. You had a good reason though, a worker's trunk wasn't gloved. Anyway, that little moment was us saying goodbye outside."

"Well, what about your friend? Why was he dressed up like a child?" she asked, as he seemed to be avoiding that question.

"Ah.. you see that's… kinda..." he began, but soon gave out a light sigh, and lowered his head apologetically. "I've been hoping to save this for the right time, but I never got anywhere by keeping secrets from you. I wasn't always... in the most honest profession. Before this I was kind of... well, a hustler of sorts."

"Oh…" was she said, before looking awkwardly around the room. Back when they were being reintroduced in the hospital, he seemed very hesitant to tell her a lot about his past. This caused that annoying part in the back of her mind to tell her that maybe he'd dipped his paws into some shady stuff before he was a cop. She always got rid of those thoughts as fast as she could, but was now surprised to hear that they were actually true.

"I know what you're thinking." Nick quickly said, apparently wanting to explain himself "It's just that… it was all I knew back then. The reason Finn was dressed up like that is because it was part of the act. If we needed to get something for one of our jobs, having a small, adorable child around would help get me a few extra sympathy points, which is kinda what happened with you." he said.

"Wait, so how did we become friends after that?"

"Well, you kinda blackmailed me into helping you solve that missing mammal case. Threatened me with federal tax evasion, even though you alone couldn't arrest me for it, but I didn't know that. We just sort of… bonded, I guess."

"Alright..." she said, still trying to process everything he was saying. One thing still lingered in her mind.

_'Why did he choose to become an officer in the first place?'_

"Just… why did you become a cop? It's a bit strange to hear someone make such a drastic change in their life."

He gave off a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah... Yeah it is. I was just so…" he stopped, taking a quick glance over at her, before continuing. "You know what? I'll save that for another time. The point is, _you_ inspired me to." he said, now looking at her with his deep emerald eyes.

"Me?" she asked. After all he'd told her, this was the last thing she would've expected.

"Yes. You just… showed me what kind of mammal I could be. You dragged me out of a dark place, and I guess I've been trying to make it up to you ever since."

"Oh, Nick. That's so sweet." she said. It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever told her. He had changed his entire way of life, all because of her.

"Please don't get all mushy feely on me, Carrots. That's not really my thing. I just thought I'd let you know." he said, before moving back to the kitchen, to finish putting away groceries.

"Whatever you say, Red." she responded, turning around to pick up her textbook.

"Ugh... Call me Sly, call me Shifty, hell even just call me Fox, but please don't ever call me Red." he said, looking at her with a serious face and his finger pointed at her.

"Pfft, why? Didn't I hate 'Carrots' when you started calling me that? Why can't I have my own little nickname that you hate?" she asked.

"Look, the name's kinda… private. I know it sounds weird, but just please don't, okay?" he asked with a sympathetic face.

"Yeah, okay." she said, not fully understanding his reasoning, but respecting it nonetheless.

"If you do want a nickname though, you sometimes used to call me 'Slick.' I actually like that one." he said with a smirk.

"Sure thing, _Slick_." she said with a little extra emphasis, before sitting back down on the couch, resuming her studying.

* * *

 

The apartment was quiet now, with Judy deciding to get a few Z's early tonight, so that she could go on an early jog in the morning. Her body was still fit for police work, but after all the time she'd spent sitting in a hospital, it wouldn't hurt for her to get a little more active.

Nick laid silently on the pull-out couch, waiting for the right time to get a move on. He didn't want to risk having Judy hear any of this, so he needed for her to be asleep.

He slowly raised himself from his bedding, creeping silently to his small dresser he had placed near the couch. He pulled out a long-sleeve shirt and some jeans, as well as a light jacket. It was fairly cold outside at this hour, and his thick fur wouldn't protect him from everything.

As he headed towards the door, his mind quickly returned to Judy. He needed to check on her at least once before he left, more for himself than for her. He knew she was fine, but there was still a nagging voice in the back of his head that told him to make sure she was alright.

He moved to her bedroom door, opening it slowly and wincing every time the door creaked. He poked his head in just enough so that he could see inside. Judy was laying in bed, wrapped up in her blanket with her eyes closed and her ears drooping down beside her. He always thought the way her ears gave up on staying upright when she went to sleep was adorable. She looked beautiful right now, and had to physically fight himself to not move any further inside the room. Nick didn't want her thinking that he was some creep.

Her little nickname had caught him off guard earlier. The last person he wanted to think about right now was Ana, his old ex. "Red" was the vixen's nickname for Nick way back when they were dating, before he even knew Judy existed. Their breakup was... difficult for both parties, but he'd moved on long ago.

Or at least, he thought he had. When Judy called him Red, it really bothered him, for reasons he couldn't exactly figure out. He had been very upset when she broke things off with him - heartbroken even - but he hadn't thought about the vixen in years, and he didn't want to start now.

Taking one last look at Judy, he carefully shut the door, and made his way to the front door.

Once he was outside, Nick pulled out his phone and looked up the contact info of the mammal he was looking to talk to. He pressed the "call" button, and placed the phone up to his ear, listening to the dial tone. He just hoped she would be awake at this hour. It was likely she would be, as she didn't have to fight her nocturnal instincts like he did.

"Nicholas?" he heard an older female voice say after a few seconds.

"Hey, mom. You awake?" he asked.

"Well obviously, honey. I wouldn't be speaking to you otherwise. I heard about what happened to your partner. Is she alright?" she asked, with genuine concern in her voice. She was never a good liar, so he would've know right away if she didn't care.

"Yeah, she's fine. It's just…" He stopped, not really knowing how to phrase this to his mother.

 _'I'm in love with her, but she can't remember anything about me,except for the fact that I used to swindle mammals out of their money. What should I do?'_ was the thought that first popped into his head, but he decided a matter such as this would be handled best face to face.

"What's wrong, Nick?" he heard his mother ask, shaking him from his thoughts.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Could you just, I don't know, find out where dad is and meet me some place? There's some things I wanted to talk to you guys about."


	4. Meeting Up

_**Zootopia is property of Disney** _

* * *

The mammals around Nick were engaged in the usual drunken midnight activities. A wildebeest and a gazelle were getting into heated argument about which grass flavor was the best at the bar, slurring every few words. A couple of wolves were sloppily making out in the back corner, paying no attention to the lemurs playing darts only a few feet away. A marble colored vixen was eyeing Nick from across the room, and it looked like her friends, a stoat and a deer, were trying to convince her to go talk to him. Every now and again two mammals would give each other a push or a shove or ask to take things outside, but luckily none of them had escalated things that far. Nick was off duty, but he would still have to do his job if he spotted anything go down.

The bar he and his parents agreed to meet at, a late night place called Sleepwalkers, wasn't the nicest place in the city, but they didn't discriminate, so they thought it would be as good a place as any to meet up. Nick hadn't seen either of them since his graduation ceremony, only giving each of them the occasional phone call, so he was a little excited to see them.

His mom would be overjoyed to see him. She was always disappointed in Nick for his job as a hustler. She never told him this, but he could always tell. At the graduation ceremony, she was on the verge of tears when he had his badge pinned to him, and ever since has been saying how proud of him she was.

His dad was like that as well, always telling his friends or customers, "That's my son" or something whenever Nick and Judy made the news. He was also a bit disappointed in what Nick used to do, but he'd always understood why he did it. Foxes weren't looked upon very favorably, so getting stable work was often a bit tricky. That was luckily something his dad was able to avoid, as he owned and operated a tailor downtown for around twenty years now. Even getting the space for the shop had been a hassle, but it all worked out in the end.

They had divorced when Nick was around five years old. Things just didn't work out between them, like it had with many couples, so they split apart. Luckily they had both still actively engaged in Nick's life, so he never loved one of them any more or less than the other. They also remained fairly friendly with each other, despite their past relationship.

Nick took another sip of his drink, taking out his phone to check the time. They should be here any minute now, as long as his mom actually found out where his dad went. He had this thing he like to do where he would just pick a district and just walk down the streets at night, taking in the view of anything and everything he saw. He also liked to leave his phone at home when he did this to "Get off the grid" as he put it, so it made getting into contact with him rather difficult. His mom had done it before though, and this time probably wouldn't be the last.

Sure enough after a couple of minutes, a pair of red foxes walked through the door. His father was in a brown business suit, like he always wore, and had a thick coat hanging around his arm. His mother was in a purple casual dress, and her face lit up when Nick stood from his table to greet them.

"Nicholas!" she said happily, moving forward to hug her son. Nick returned the hug, as it'd been far too long since they seen each other in person.

"Good to see you too, Mom." he said, releasing her from the embrace. He looked over at his father, who was giving him a smirk much like the one Nick liked to wear.

"How've you been, kid?" his dad said, extending his paw. Nick gave it a firm shake, just like he'd always taught him, and then closed the distance between them for a brief hug. As they parted, his father reached up for Nick's tie.

"What have I told you about keeping these things tight?" he said, fiddling with the tie until it was pressed closely against Nick's neck. Nick reached up and quickly loosened it back to it's original position, earning a huff from his father.

"Sorry. Just not my style. I'm fine by the way." he said, looking down at the thick coat in his father's arms. "Let me guess, you found him in Tundra Town tonight, didn't you?" he said, looking at his mom.

"Yep. I found him walking around the fish market, trying to find a place that was open." she said, raising an eyebrow at the older fox.

"You never know, Viv. New stores are opening up all the time. One that's open all day is bound to pop up eventually."

"And in what universe is there a high demand for halibut at this hour?" She responded with a chuckle.

"Just trust me, it'll happen someday."

They moved to sit down at the table, each of Nick's parents eager to see how their son had been all this time.

"So Dad," Nick began. "How's the shop been doing?"

"Never better. We just started making suits for elephants about a month ago. Those babies are expensive to make, let me tell ya. Luckily that goes both ways, so we make a mean profit." the older fox said.

"Nice. How's life been treating you, Mom?" he asked, now looking at her.

"Oh, it's been fine. Working, relaxing at home, waiting for my son to give me some grandchildren, you know… the usual." she said, taking a glance at the vixen across the room.

"I think you have a fan, pal. Why not go say hello after we're done here?" his dad said, causing Nick to let out a sigh.

"Look, I appreciate the thought, but I'm not looking for anyone right now. It's… kind of the reason I asked you guys to come here, actually." he said, and his parents ears perked slightly, and small smiles appeared on their faces.

"Is that so? Just wanted to get a little advice then? I gotcha. Though, maybe you should've asked someone who wasn't divorced about this kind of stuff. That's fine though. Who's the lucky lady?" his dad said.

' _Please don't be mad.'_

"It's, uh… Judy. My partner on the force." Their looks of surprise turned into ones of general confusion.

"Wait, you mean the bunny?" his father said.

"Yeah. We've been dating for over a month. Well, we _were_ dating before…"

"Wait, wait, hold on." His dad interrupted. "I just want to make sure I'm understanding this right. You're dating a rabbit?"

"Well, yeah but…" Nick replied.

"And you're attracted to her?"

"Yes I… Look, can we please get back to…"

"And you've… _been_ with her?"

"John!" his mom said, looking over at the older fox with a shocked expression on her face

"What? This wasn't really what I thought he'd ask us here for, so I'm just a little surprised is all. I just never thought you were… like that."

"Hey, I didn't think I was either, but she's not an ordinary bunny." Nick said with a small, nervous chuckle. "You guys aren't mad, are you?"

"I won't act like I'm thrilled about it, but it isn't really my place to judge. Who you choose to be with is your business and yours alone." his dad said, causing Nick to let out a heavy internal sigh. That was one parent that was at least indifferent about it, and he could deal with indifferent. That just left his mother.

"I think I'm in the same boat as your father. I'm just a little confused… Why you would want to be with her?" Nick let out a scoff in response.

"Why would I _not_? She's smart, she's funny. She supported me when no one else did, and she saw me as something more than just some shifty fox. She's the one who helped me become a cop in the first place. And despite us being different species, I do find her beautiful, and I truly, honestly wouldn't trade her for anything in the world."

This seemed to have a positive effect on his mother, while his father still seemed to be processing everything.

"Oh, Nicky. That's so adorable!" she said, wiggling with excitement in her seat. That seemed to have won her over, so now each of his parents were at the very least accepting of his relationship with Judy.

"Why didn't you tell us, Nick? You know we would never disown you or anything. We're not fanatics." his mom said, turning quickly to face him. He wanted to back on track with his questions, but he should've guessed they would have a few questions.

"I mean, I did want to tell you guys about us eventually. Now just seemed like a good time. I did kinda think that Dad would be against it to be honest."

"What? No, I'm not against it. It's just… something I wouldn't do myself."

"Well, thank you both for keeping an open mind about it. But the thing is… telling you about us wasn't really the reason I asked you out here." he said, sighing for a moment and thinking about what he was going to say.

"She can't remember me."

* * *

Judy jolted awake, gasping as she laid up in bed. She looked quickly around the room, realizing where she was. She was in her apartment, which she shared with her fox partner, Nick. She let out a heavy sigh, then laid back down in bed.

Her dreams certainly didn't make things easy on her first night back in her own bed. She'd dreamed that instead of her, it was other mammals she knew that couldn't remember her. First it was her parents, then it was several of her brothers and sisters, finally it was Nick. Those were all just dreams though. They couldn't do her any harm.

She did feel bad for Nick, and the other officers at the precinct. They evidently knew quite a lot about her, but she didn't remember anything about them. She hoped to fix this issue as fast as possible, hopefully she'd be able to get a head start with Nick after breakfast.

She looked over at the clock. A little past two AM. She didn't have to be awake for a few more hours, so she decided to lie back down and rest. If only her mind had agreed with her. A few hours ago, she was actually tired, so it made falling asleep rather easy. Now that she'd already caught a few Z's, she was struggling to let sleep take her. The bed was comfy enough, but that weird part in the back of her mind was telling her that something was missing.

Or someone was.

That was pretty unlikely though. If she ever did have someone special come over, it wouldn't exactly be fair to just kick Nick out of his own home. Plus, he'd never mentioned anything about her having a boyfriend or anything, so she assumed that she was just focused on her work.

That had been how she was since her teens. Sure, she'd had a couple boyfriends back in the Burrows, but none of them had gotten very far. They had sometimes pushed things a bit farther than she was comfortable with, and she would have to remind them that she didn't want to do stuff like that. This resulted in some of the other bunnies in town labeling her as some kind of prude, but she didn't mind. She was just focusing on her future, and nothing brings your hopes and dreams screeching to a halt faster than an unexpected child.

After around fifteen minutes of just laying in bed, she decided she might as well grab a snack from the fridge, maybe see if they had any sleeping pills in the cupboard somewhere.

She got up out of bed, opening the door to the rest of their apartment. It was still dark out, and she didn't want to turn on the lights and disturb Nick. She thought that the fox's night vision would come in real handy right now, as she used her hand to guide her into the kitchen, touching the walls and counters. Soon, she managed to find her way to the fridge, and inspected the contents inside.

' _Let's see… eggs, eww, no... Carrots, too cliche... Some lettuce, eh not really feeling it right now… Ah! There we go.'_

She pulled out a bottle of fruit juice, hoping that it would satisfy her for the time being. She just needed to grab a glass. A task that was rather challenging due to her height. Normally she would just hop up on the counter to reach the cupboard, but she was too groggy right now, that weird feeling of not being able to fall asleep, but not having the energy to do anything else.

"Nick?" she whispered and looked towards the couch. The light from the fridge left a strange surprise for her.

He wasn't there.

"Nick?" she said again, only this time more loudly. No answer came from anywhere in the apartment. She quickly moved to turn on the lights, and although they blinded her for a brief second, they did confirm her suspicions.

' _Where'd he go off too?'_ she wondered. He hadn't told her he was going anywhere. Maybe he just made some plans with a few buddies? That's what she thought was the likely answer. Just having a guys night out that she didn't need to be a part of.

Unfortunately, that annoying part in the back of her mind, which she was actively beginning to hate, was telling her that he was possibly up to no good. She quickly dismissed this. Nick was a cop, and a good one too from what she'd heard. There's no way he would get himself involved in anything that would be considered unethical.

Still, she at least wanted to know where he'd gone off to. She didn't see a note or anything like that anywhere, so she would just need to call him and find out. She moved back to her room, finding her phone on the nightstand and unlocking it. She found Nick's name in her contacts and hit the call button.

After two of the dial tones came and went, she heard Nick's voice come through the speaker.

"Hey, Carrots. What're you doing up?" he said, as she heard the faint sounds of music in the background.

"Woke up a few minutes ago, couldn't fall back asleep. I noticed a pull-out couch that lacked a certain fox on it. Got a little worried. Just had to indulge your nocturnal predispositions for a little bit?" she said with a short laugh, which Nick returned.

"Actually, I went out with my parents. We haven't seen each other in a while, so we just met up at a bar downtown. They just left a few-" he stopped talking when a loud crash was heard over the speaker.

"Uh, is everything okay down there?" she asked, hoping that Nick wasn't anywhere dangerous.

"Nah, it's all good. A tiger just forgot what thumbs were for a second, dropped their drink all over the floor. I might have to help get him a cab home. I'll talk to you later, Fluff. Get some sleep."

"See you. Don't forget that you need sleep too, Slick." she said with a smile on her face.

"I'll keep that in mind. Night." he finished.

"Goodnight." she said, then ended the call.

At least now she had a clear conscience. Hopefully that would help her get some more sleep. She still had a lot more to read in those textbooks, and she wanted to get an early start on them in the morning.

She climbed back into bed, thinking about what kind of good she could do in the world. About how many lives she could change.

In a few minutes, she was once again asleep.

* * *

When Nick was finally able to get that more-than-tipsy tiger into a taxi, the time was almost three AM. As much as he didn't really feel tired, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he'd be craving sleep. Working for the ZPD had adjusted his sleep schedule so that he was able to fall asleep near the same time Judy was, but it was still nice to just let his instincts take over every now and again. Heck, that was the entire reason Mystic Springs existed in the first place.

His conversation with his parents about Judy's dilemma hadn't been the greatest of help. They never really gave him any out of this world advice, not that he'd been expecting them to. This was a situation that very few had likely ever been in, let alone his own parents. His dad had told several different iterations of "Just keep trying," whatever that meant. His mom was a bit more helpful, suggesting ways that he could potentially jog her memory. He'd already tried doing that with things like her carrot pen, her badge, and a few other items of note. None of them had helped in any way, but he didn't want to give up. If items couldn't do the job, then maybe some specific locations could? He was already formulating a plan to take her out to some of the various spots they'd visited in the city, while either working together on the missing mammal case, or working as partners on the ZPD.

He went back inside Sleepwalkers, finishing off the rest of his drink, before heading out to find a cab of his own. He soon flagged one down, got inside, and gave the pig who was driving his address.

Before the cab could leave, the door to the back seat opened, and that same marble colored vixen from inside entered the car.

"Uh, this one's occupied." Nick said, suspiciously eyeing the white vixen.

"Oh. Well, might as well take me back to your place then, eh?" She said in a very sultry, but also slightly slurred voice. She obviously had too much to drink.

"I'm fine ma'am, thank you for the offer. There are plenty of other cabs available."

"Ah, come on, handsome. I saw you take a look at me every now and again back in that place. I'm sure being a police officer is hard work. You sure you don't want to _relieve a little stress_?" she said, scooting closer to him in the back seat.

Nick had to show that tiger from before his badge at one point, making it very clear that he wanted the feline to get out of there, and get home safely. She apparently saw this, and decided that she would very much like to get to know Zootopia's first fox cop a little better. Nick wasn't too fond of the idea, though.

"Once again, I'm fine. My roommate would not appreciate it if I came home with someone at this hour." he said, hoping to get this vixen out of his fur.

"Hey, we could just go to my place then. Nobody around to interrupt. Or maybe we should go back to your place? I bet your roommate would like to join in…"

"Okay, that's enough." he said, opening the door on his side and getting out. She had absolutely no control over her own actions, unless she was like this all the time. He needed to get her out of here before she did something stupid. He walked around to the right side of the car, opening the door, and getting the vixen out of the cab. She was surprisingly willing to follow him, probably thinking he was leading her to some spot where they could be alone.

"Wait just a sec, alright?" he said to the cab driver, who nodded in response. Nick then moved back into the bar with the vixen in tow, eyeing the stoat and deer from earlier. He moved up to them, their vulpine friend still giggling in Nick's ear.

"You ladies might want to control your friend here before she does something she'll regret later. Make sure she gets home, alright?" he said, and briefly flashed his badge to them.

"Sure thing officer." the stoat responded, eyeing both of her friends nervously.

"Okay then. Have a lovely rest of your evening." He lightly pushed the cooing vixen off him. "Please get home safely, miss." he said, before heading out the door, leaving the three ladies there a little stunned.

A part of his mind thought that maybe it would be a good idea if he'd taken her up on her offer. Perhaps it'd be a good thing if he could just forget about his relationship with Judy. That thought exited his mind as quickly as it came in. He couldn't just try and ignore the feelings he has for her… if there was even the smallest chance that Judy could remember what the two of them were, the he would have to take it.

And he had a plan to do just that.


	5. A Path Retread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick thanks to WhatABummer for their help with this chapter.
> 
> Zootopia is property of Disney

When Judy woke up she was surprised to find a sense of ease suffusing her like a warm blanket. She had expected her first night in a place that was "new" to her to be a bit rough, but other than that moment where she was woken by her nightmare the night had been restful. Judy couldn't remember what dreams she'd had after she dozed off again, but she just felt alert and ready to start the day. Perhaps her body knew what her mind didn't; she lived here, and she should feel comfortable while she did.

Judy hopped out of bed, smoothing out the wrinkles in her pajamas with her paws as she walked towards her bedroom door. She opened it to find the apartment lit up, the sunlight of a new day beaming through the spotless windows.

' _Does Nick always keep this place so clean?'_ She wondered with a yawn, rubbing the last scraps of sleep from her eyes

She quickly checked the couch, and found that Nick was snugly wrapped up in the blanket he had on it. She was relieved to see that he had made it back safely. She knew for a fact that the crime rates in Zootopia were much higher than in Bunnyburrow, so she had worried for a bit that he might run into trouble on his return home. He _was_ a cop though, so he'd have no trouble fending off any pickpockets or muggers he ran into.

Judy blinked as she realized she was staring. Nick was curled up clutching a pillow close to his chest, and Judy couldn't help but smile at the sight. With a reticence that surprised her, Judy turned her attention towards the kitchen.

Moving to the fridge to get herself some breakfast, she winced as she noticed a little mistake she had made last night after she called Nick. The bottle of fruit juice she had gotten was still out on the counter, now warm from being outside of its chilled home for several hours. She promptly placed it back inside and crossed it off of her mental list of potential things to have for breakfast.

In the end she decided on one of the microwavable breakfast meals they had inside the freezer. She was used to her mom and several other siblings preparing home cooked meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner back home in -

Home. Judy stopped in her tracks, something felt off about that word. But why? Bunnyburrow had always been her home. So why the sudden hesitation?

Judy shook her head to clear her thoughts. Maybe she wasn't as awake as she thought. In any case, she'd have to get used to eating more frozen foods. She'd already done it once apparently, so it shouldn't be that hard to do it again.

Before placing the rock-hard "food" inside the microwave, she took note of the time on the clock, 9:37. It was a little later than she was planning on getting up; she had wanted to get up early and go on a nice morning jog before reading through more of those textbooks, but in the end she didn't mind that much. She had all week to get ready to return to work, and she would have Nick along to help her.

As she set the microwave and hit start, she heard some rustling coming from the pull-out couch, and turned to face it.

"Mornin', Carrots." Nick said groggily, as he rubbed his eyes with his paws while still lying down. "How was your first night back?"

"Not too bad. I was a little nervous at first, but… I don't know. It felt kinda normal, you know?" she said.

"Well you have lived here for a little while. Maybe somewhere deep inside your carrot-loving noggin, you know you're home.."

"That's what I was thinking, yeah." She chuckled as she took note of his rapid blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light. "You didn't stay out _too_ late, right?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Nah, I got back around 3:30. Hell, six hours of sleep is more than I usually get on a weekday. Thank God for this little break the Chief's giving us." he said, sitting up on the couch and stretching, the blanket falling to reveal the scruffy cream and red colored fur of his bare upper body.

She turned her gaze away from him as nonchalantly as she could, a little embarrassed at seeing Nick uncovered like that. Unfortunately though, it seemed like he had already noticed her slight embarrassment.

"Sorry, force of habit... I guess I should've figured this might be a little weird for you. I can put something on if you'd like me to." he said apologetically. She heard a soft clack from his claws as his paws touched the floor.

"No, it's fine." she said, forcing herself to look at him again. "This is your home too. You should be able to feel comfortable here. I've probably seen a lot worse, right?" she said with a laugh. He responded with his own chuckle.

"Oh believe me, you have." he said with a wink and a sly smile, before walking over to the fridge and pulling out the carton of eggs inside. She was relieved that he at least had some pajama pants on, otherwise things would've gotten _really_ awkward.

Again, Judy caught herself staring. That weird part in the back of her mind was telling her that he actually looked _really_ good. More so than a bunny should think about a fox. She quickly shook the thought from her head and tried to focus on something else. Things wouldn't get any easier if she made things awkward between her and Nick.

' _Don't go all stereotypical loose bunny on me now, brain. I've got more important things to worry about.'_

She heard the sound of the stove turning on, and heard a frying pan clank down on top.

"On a somewhat related note, this might be a good time to mention the shower situation." Nick said as he coated the skillet in butter and prepared to crack one of the eggs.

She had been hoping to figure out what the plan would be there. They only had one bathroom, so they needed to have some way to keep things organized in that regard. They'd done it before, so they could probably make it work now.

"Well, what did we do before the accident?" she asked.

"We had things on kind of a 'first come, first serve' basis. That usually meant _you_ got it first, what with your 'get up at the crack of dawn' attitude. I'm fine with going back to that system if you are."

"Sure, that's fine." she said. If that system had worked out for them before, then surely it could still work for them now. Just as long as neither of them accidentally walked in on the other, that is.

"Alright, sounds good." he said.

They each readied their breakfast; Judy waited for her microwave meal to be finished, while Nick took a few more minutes to ready his scrambled eggs. Once that was done, they each sat down at the small table to eat.

This wasn't the first time she'd seen a predator eat protein. Bunnyburrow always had a few predators living in it, so they always got their own meals at school. Still, it had always put her nerves slightly on edge. Whenever Nick opened his mouth to take a bite, she had to fight back the urge to flinch. Nick seemed to catch onto this at some point, as she noticed him beginning to gradually take smaller and smaller bites from his eggs, and seemed to be trying to flash his teeth a little less. She appreciated the gesture, but still thought it was unfair. He shouldn't have to hide anything about himself in his own home.

"So," Nick began as he finished his meal, "You have any plans other than studying all day?"

"I was going to go for a jog, but I probably won't anymore. Gotta be ready to work come Monday. Don't want to mess anything up my first day. Or well, not my first but… you know what I mean."

"Oh, come one. We've both got an entire week free of work, and you want to spend the entire time with your nose buried in those dull books? Come on, bunny, live a little! Don't you want to get out and see the city?"

Judy had to admit she _was_ very excited to see all the sights Zootopia had to offer, but knew that she had a lot of catching up to do before she could return to her normal duties. She had to cram six months of training into a whole week, plus however long Nick was going to be retraining her once they got back to the precinct. They had to focus on all of that

Still, the idea of a lifelong resident of Zootopia taking her on a tour of the city _was_ rather appealing.

"Well, I guess I could spend a few hours getting to know the area better. What did you have in mind?" she asked.

"Well, I was thinking …" The fox began slowly, "Maybe we could go check out some of the places that we went to during that whole Nighthowler thing. You might remember something there. And failing that, I could just to take you to some of the best spots the city has to offer. Sound good?" Nick asked, eyebrows arched.

"Sure, yeah. Maybe a few more memories will even to pop back into place!" the rabbit said hopefully.

"Alright. We'll get ready and leave here in say, an hour?"

"Fine by me."

"Great." Nick said, standing up and taking his plate to the sink. "Dibs on the shower by the way."

"Does it matter? We're not exactly on a time constraint here." Judy said, raising her eyebrow at him as she ate her own meal.

"I haven't had a long shower in over nine months now, Carrots. I'm gonna cherish this moment."

She gave him a small smile and returned to her meal.

Nick was kind of a strange guy, but he clearly cared a lot for her. He wouldn't be going to all this trouble to help her out otherwise. It was strange, feeling so comfortable around a predator, especially a fox. It made her feel good that she wasn't letting her past experience with Gideon hold her back from keeping an open mind. Nick had been nothing but a good friend to her; as good (or better) than anyone else she'd known, in fact.

She hoped that sometime soon she could return the favor.

* * *

After each of their showers, Nick and Judy left their apartment and headed to the first location Nick wanted to take her, the ice cream shop where they'd first met. She'd already had a memory pop up from there, but it wouldn't hurt to go there anyway, just to see if her brain revealed anything new.

"Alright. Here we are. The place where our lives first intersected." Nick said as he stopped outside the large front door to the ice cream shop, Jumpbeaux's Cafe.

It was clearly a place designed for elephants, if the customers inside and the size of the portions were any indication. Looking through the front window, Judy could tell there were two elephants working behind the counter. Judy caught a flicker of surprise and worry cross the expression of the elephant at the counter when he saw the fox and rabbit walk in. The other had his back turned as he prepared various frozen treats. Each of them were wearing gloves on their trunks, so at least they wouldn't have to go in there and fine them. Judy was almost disappointed; she'd just read the statues on the health-code.

"So, this is where we met." Judy said after a brief silence, trying to get a conversation between them going. She wanted to know as much about these places as she could. Hopefully any info could knock some memories back into place.

"Yep… Ya' know, if you would've told me back when we met that almost two years later I'd be your partner on the force, I would've tried to get you locked away in a psych ward as a threat to public safety. But hey, look at me now." Nick said, giving her a small smile as he peered around the shop.

"What, you couldn't see yourself as a cop?" she asked, wondering what the enigmatic fox meant by that.

"Not in a million years, Carrots. What with all the stuff I did up to that point, I never really considered getting ever getting on the right side of the law. I mean, it took me six months just to sign up for the academy, thanks to my previous employment."

"It did? Why'd it take so long?"

"Well, first they had to run a background check on me. They saw a few arrests from a while back - nothing serious just some misdemeanors - so they eventually cleared me. Then I had the whole 'tax evasion' thing I had to deal with. Got a plan set up to pay off my debts, which is still eating into my bank account, so thank you for that."

The fox nudged Judy in the side playfully before continuing.

"And then the biggest hurdle of all, just being a fox. There were a lot of mammals who were… let's say 'less than thrilled' to see me apply. Not all of them mind you, but the ones that did certainly slowed down the process for me. And to be honest, without your recommendation and having helped with the Nighthowler thing, I'd probably have been rejected right out of hand."

"All because you're a fox? That's awful!" Judy said, turning to look at him.

"Yeah, it was. You always said you kinda went through the same thing though. Not many mammals took you seriously when you signed up."

"Don't say that, it's completely different! They probably thought I was just going to get hurt or something, but they thought _you_ were an actual threat." she said in exasperation.

Nick let out a soft sigh, "That's the thing, Carrots. They thought I was a threat, just because I'm a fox. It's just the way things are, unfortunately."

"Oh, come on. Not everyone thinks like that, right?"

"No, you're right, not everyone ... but enough do to make it an issue. Even you at first were a little, uh… sceptical, let's say."

' _Oh no.'_ Judy thought. While her parents were always quick to judge predators, she always liked to think of herself as being above all that. Sure the odd thought popped into her head every now and again, but she always made an effort to judge mammals on their actions, not their background. It was troubling to hear that she hadn't always adhered to that rule.

"I was?" she asked, her ears drooping and her face losing a bit of it's shine.

Nick blinked, realizing what he'd accidentally revealed.

"Oh look, I don't hold it against you or anything." Nick was fumbling through his words, "I mean … most mammals just kinda have things programed into their minds that they can't control. Heck, you were probably a little freaked out back when I first walked in at the hospital, right?"

She was surprised he knew about that at all. Whether she let something slip when they first met, or if he just knew these types of things was anyone's guess.

"To be honest… yeah, I was. I'm really sorry Nick, I…"

"You don't need to apologize." Nick interrupted, "Most mammals do stuff like that without even realizing. But very few ever worry about how they come across, so you've got that going for you!"

"Well, what did I do back then?" Judy asked. She just hoped it wasn't anything too bad.

Nick coughed and scratched nervously at the back of his head.

"You, uh, carried around a can of… fox repellent on your utility belt. You said your dad made you take it with you. You were wearing it when we, you know… met and all."

' _Fox repellant? That bigoted pepper spray they sell outside the market? Dammit, Judy. Why were you so…'_

"Ah. Stop it with that face, Carrots. I know when you're feeling guilty. You have nothing to worry about. Both of us have long moved on from it." Nick said, trying to reassure her.

"I'm so sorry, Nick. I don't know why I would ever…"

"What did I just say? Judy, really it's fine. I know that isn't really you." he said, placing his paw on her shoulder briefly, before dropping it at his side. The small amount of contact felt good, however brief it was.

They both continued to look around, with Nick idly sizing up the customers - old habits die hard - while Judy kept trying to remember _anything_ else about what happened here. Unfortunately her brain seemed content with keeping everything locked up tight.

"So, you ready to hit the next place?" Nick asked, turning back to Judy.

"Yeah, let's go." she said, ready to move on from this place.

She was still struggling with the fact that she had let herself be so backwards. Nick seemed to not be bothered by it anymore, but the fact that she did it alone put a damper on her spirits.

' _Hopefully that ice cream shop was the only time I was ever like that.'_ She thought.

* * *

So far, things hadn't quite been going the way Nick had expected.

Things had been going great until he'd gone and opened his big mouth and mentioned the fact that Judy used to carry fox repellant around with her. It crushed him to see the way face dropped when he'd told her. He made a mental note then and there to try and keep his trap shut. He'd like to keep any depression he caused to a minimum.

Nick had decided against taking her to Mystic Springs, despite how amusing it would have been to see her reaction to the place a second time. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable, or let her know that he'd brought her there when they barely knew each other. It was unlikely that any major memories would resurface there either, so they skipped it.

Instead they'd stopped over at the DMV to see if anything popped up there. It was quickly discovered that nothing important would come from there, after reintroductions with Flash stretched out for over twenty minutes. Although they had all day, Nick still wanted to get to as many locations as he could.

The impound lot in Tundratown wouldn't be of any use either. Big's limo was long gone from there by now, so anything of importance would be lost to Judy. He didn't mind _that_ much, as it was unlikely anything of importance would reveal itself inside the limo. And even though Judy had something of an in with the Big family, the fox wasn't eager to cross paths with the shrew or his polar bear mooks any time soon.

They walked around Tundratown for a little while, just to get the small rabbit used to the cold climate. And Nick relished the small looks of wonder as Judy took in the sights; Judy had been all business during the Nighthowler case, but freed from the pressures of a missing mammal case the rabbit was soaking in the sights with wide eyes and a bright smile.

Nick couldn't help but find Judy's reaction beautiful. It was a small thing - a minor consolation at best - but at least something good had come from this.

As they walked through the icy streets, Nick's thoughts turned to how he should tell Judy about her relationship with the Big's. Just casually saying , "Oh yeah by the way, you're the Godmother to the granddaughter of a notorious crime boss." didn't really seem like the best of ideas, but he couldn't think of any other way to tell her right now. So again, he skipped another location, this time due to the fear of how she might react.

By the time 4 o'clock rolled around, traveling around the city all day had worn them down. They still had several more sights to see, but Nick wanted to get one more thing out of the way before they moved on to more recent locations. He'd put it off as long as he could.

The Gondola.

The place where he'd first really opened up to Judy. To anyone, really. To this day he wondered what spirit possessed him to jump to her aid on the platform, and then bid him to lower his mask of faux confidence. An angel perhaps, judging from how much good that one moment of vulnerability wrought in his life. In the span of a handful of minutes, thirty years of pain began to ebb and wash away. It was one of the most important moments of Nick's life, and he desperately hoped it was the same with her.

Finding the exact platform they'd been attacked by the savage Mr. Manchas on was a bit of a challenge, as there were so many different one's in the Rainforest District, and he couldn't remember the panther's exact address.

Thanks to the GPS on his phone, he was able to narrow it down to a few spots, and was lucky enough to find the platform a short time later.

"Okay, this is it." Nick said as they walked out onto the long, extended platform. A gondola cart passed by every twenty seconds or so, each one slowing down to a brief halt to allow anyone to board. Luckily, it seemed that Nick and Judy were the only two mammals up here right now, so they'd have the place all to themselves.

"So, what happened up here?" Judy asked, looking around and taking in the view of the rest of the city.

"Quite a bit, actually. First, the panther we came here to ask a few questions was hit by some of the Nighthowler darts I was telling you about,went savage, tried to attack us. We ran here, and you pretty much saved my life."

"I did?" she asked.

"Yep. If it wasn't for you, I would've either been a tasty meal or a big splat on the ground. The chief showed up after we, uh ... got ourselves untangled. When we came back, the panther was nowhere to be found. We learned later that some wolves that worked for the old mayor had snatched him up, trying to keep things a secret. The chief… wasn't very thrilled about coming out here for nothing. He demanded your resignation right then and there."

"What? How'd I get out of that one?"

"You can thank yours truly for that one." he said, pointing to himself with his thumb. "I called Buffalo-butt out for trying to hustle you out of a job."

The fox scoffed and shook his head.

"And what a lame hustle it was. You worked harder to earn that badge than any officer there, and you still had a case to solve . No way Judy Hopps would ever stop until it was finished. Poor choice of a mark, if you ask me."

The fox smiled warmly at Judy. The rabbit felt that strange feeling of comfort return.

"You stood up to Bogo? Don't know how you managed to stay cool during that. He seems pretty intimidating from what I've seen so far."

"Ah, but that's where my old smooth talking skills came into play. I just said what everyone else was thinking. Well, what _you_ were thinking at least. It worked out well enough, and we got on one of these things here and continued on our merry way. Speaking of which…"

A cart stopped in front of the platform with a soft ringing of a bell. Nick opened the door for Judy, gesturing inside.

"Care for a ride?"

"Yes please! These things look like so much fun." Judy said cheerily, moving onto the cart. She was quickly followed by Nick.

They silently leaned against the front of the cart for a while after the cart started its slow ascent, just taking in the view of the city. It wasn't quite like it was when they first rode the gondola together, with the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon, creating a vibrant display of colors in the sky. Nick had to admit that scene would've been rather romantic if they'd been interested in each other at the time, a fact Nick had filed away for future use. The afternoon sun was still shining low in the sky, but the view was no less breathtaking.

The view wasn't the only thing that ripped the air from the fox's lungs.

Nick had to physically fight an overwhelming urge to stare at Judy right now. She was in awe at the sight of the vast city before her, the wind ruffling through the thicker fur at the edge of her cheeks and tips of her ears. While chances were good she wouldn't notice the occasional furtive glance, Nick still tried to keep himself under control.

"Wow, incredible." Judy said after a few minutes of silence.

He couldn't help but agree, but not about the view, about the mammal he was with. Judy Hopps was the definition of incredible.

He was thinking about the right way to tell her about what had happened on the ride down. She was still Judy, so hopefully she would understand things well enough, but they didn't have the past experiences or context to help them bond like they had. The real importance of the message might be lost on her.

"Hey, Carrots." Nick said, as he was now figuring out what he was going to say. He didn't hear a response from her.

"Carrots?" He turned to face and was surprised to see her staring back at him, with eyes wide and pupils narrow. She was barely moving at all, her eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed in a look of concentration. It was the same look she gave when trying to piece together the clues of a case.

"Judy, you okay?" he said, and he once again got no response. He tried waving his paw in front of her, but it had no effect. She was caught in some trance.

Nick was beginning to panic. If something were to happen to Judy here, they'd have nowhere to go to get help.

Luckily her eyes soon began blinking rapidly, and her pupils readjusted to their normal size. She took a few quick looks around, before focusing on Nick.

"I … I think I remembered something else." she said softly, as if she was still a bit shocked by whatever the memory was.

"Really? Were we…?" Nick began, hoping he knew what she was getting at.

"On the gondola, yeah. You told me about how you … when you got muzzled as a kit. Oh Nick, I'm so sorry that happened to you." she said, resting her paw on his right arm.

It felt so good to have some physical contact with her again, however small it was. His eyes met hers and there it was. That same look of unabashed compassion she'd given him the first time.

Nick felt a surge of hope swell within him before he tamped it back down.

And this time, Nick made no move to draw away from Judy's touch.

"Please stop apologizing for things you had no control over. I've moved on from it." The fox smiled, "With a… certain bunny's help that is."

Judy gave a gentle squeeze and moved her paw off Nick's arm with a soft smile before turning her attention back to the view before them. He took a few more seconds to look at her, before tearing his gaze away to follow her example.

These past few weeks had certainly been crazy for the duo; unlike anything either of them had ever faced before.

But they would always have each other, even if it wasn't quite in the way Nick wanted it to be.

But for now, he had a few more destinations in mind to take Judy to.


	6. A Familiar Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter this time, but is has some fluffiness to it.
> 
> Zootopia is property of Disney

"You've got to be kidding me." Nick said with frustration, looking up at the notice hanging above the Natural History Museum's main entryway.

_Closed due to renovations._

"How many times does this place need to be renovated? I swear they do it every few months." the fox mussed.

"So, I take it we're not getting inside then?" Judy asked.

"Well … not legally," he replied with a mischievous grin. Of course that would be a terrible idea, as well as one Judy would never go along with. Nick had taken a break from showing her spots that were meaningful to them and had just showed her around the city for the past couple hours, watching her face light up as they walked down the streets.

He had to admit, he was a little envious of her, in a way. It's extremely rare that someone gets to relive the experience of seeing something they consider _that_ astonishing for the first time.

Then again, before the accident his heart would flare up every time he saw his beloved bunny in the same storm of pure, unfiltered bliss that it had when he first realized his feelings for her. It still did, but that was beside the point.

Still, Nick was upset he couldn't take her inside the museum. It was the place where they took down Bellwether, exposing her plot for everyone to see. If they hadn't cracked the case, who _knows_ where Zootopia would be now.

Truth be told, Nick was slightly relieved to not have to bring Judy inside. He'd been concerned that when he brought her to the museum, she'd only remember him acting savage and feigning the "attack" on her. It wasn't that much of an issue really, as he had already told her how they got Bellwether to confess before they got there. Plus, he could always bring her back another time.

"So, what now? Any other spots you wanted to show me?" Judy asked.

"Uh… nothing that's worth going out of our way for."

Of course, there was still one more location that was important to the two of them. The bridge. It was the spot where he first admitted to himself that he needed this rabbit in his life, in whatever way was possible, for the remainder of it. Looking back on things now, it was right then and there that he knew he loved her, at least in some capacity. It just took him a long time to figure out how deep that love went, and Nick always liked to think that the bridge was a stepping stone in his hard fall for Judy later on.

Now, he _would_ have taken her there without a second thought, had they not already made another wonderful memory there over a month ago.

He had brought her there towards the end of their first "official" date. They were each so relieved to finally get their feelings out in the open, and things had ended up getting fairly _intimate_ under the bridge. Some heavy petting … nothing that could be considered illicit, but you'd certainly not want anyone else around for it. The last thing he needed was for her to remember _that_ before anything else.

"Alright. In that case, do you mind if we head back? I'm getting a little tired." Judy said with a small huff. They'd been moving around the city all day, stopping only to get some food or find a bathroom. The sun was just starting to set, and the amount of traveling was starting to take its toll on both of them.

"Oh, you'd better get used to moving around the city all day, Carrots. The Chief's had a habit of putting us out on beat patrols lately. Or well, before… you know. I think he likes the publicity we bring; a rabbit and a fox, partners, working together to keep the city safe … all that jazz."

That had been the case ever since Nick officially joined the force. Sure, they'd gotten their chances to help investigate some serious cases since then, but the majority of their work together consisted of the dreaded double P's; Patrols and Paperwork.

A couple of news stations had even noticed their partnership, one of them going as far as to have Nick and Judy come in for an interview. They asked the standard fare of questions. "What's it like being the first rabbit/fox on the force?", "How does it feel to have a rabbit/fox as a partner?", "What made you want to become a cop?", and various other questions like that. Nick had also seen at least one news story about Judy after the accident - her heroics having become quite the story -, detailing what had happened. He really hoped no reporters would come anywhere near her now. She wouldn't be ready for it.

"So, we're basically a walking PR stunt is what you're saying." Judy asked with a humorous smirk on her face, which Nick couldn't help but laugh at as they walked down the street.

"I mean, it's not like they forced us to work together or anything. But yeah, pretty much."

"Huh. It's still kind of weird to think about that. Like, you changed your whole life around just because of me?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"Well, you helped me realize a lot about myself, Carrots. And you did kinda, you know, save my life a couple of times. That certainly helped." he said sheepishly.

"Ha, I'm sure it did." Judy said as she turned her head to admire the view of the buildings around them. The sun was beginning to sink, painting the walls of the buildings in brilliant golds and oranges, the windows glinting and sparkling.

While Judy glanced around , Nick used the time to quickly admire everything he could about the bunny next to him. The small pep in the way she walked. The way her ears twitched towards any sound she heard. They way she turned to face him, her violet eyes shining. The way one of her eyebrows was raised, lips pursed in a look of confusion…

' _Oh, crap.'_

"You okay, Nick?" she asked.

' _Quick, think of something!'_

Putting on that same cool, relaxed face he always excelled at using on cue, he did his best to make it seem like he wasn't staring at her.

"Yeah, I'm good. That face you were making a second ago was just… oh, what's the word I'm looking for here? Cute?" the fox said teasingly

The huff Judy let out confirmed that his plan was working so far.

"You know, most bunnies…" she started.

"Find that offensive, I know. Just teasing is all. I've seen you take down rhinos! I wouldn't do it if your reaction wasn't so… you know."

The way Judy rolled her eyes and looked away, trying to hide an amused smile ensured Nick that he hadn't actually offended her, much to his relief. She was still the same bunny, just missing a few pieces to the whole puzzle.

The most important ones.

Nick just had to get those pieces back together.

* * *

"Carrots?" a smooth voice called from across the room.

Judy ears turned towards the sound before her eyes found the source. Nick was sitting on the couch, holding the TV remote in his paw.

"You decide what kind of movie you wanna watch yet?" he asked, gesturing to the TV with the remote. She couldn't remember how they'd gotten back to the apartment, but for some reason didn't feel worried about that fact.

"Hmm… I was thinking a nice spy movie. You think you could find any?" she asked.

"Sure thing. You want… ' _Bridge of Sloths_ ', or ' _Skyefall_.'?"

"Eh, I'm not in the mood for a Savage film, so _Bridge of Sloths_ it is." Judy said,moving up to the couch holding a bowl of popcorn. She didn't know why she'd said that... she couldn't recall seeing either of those films.

Judy sat the bowl down next to Nick, then… wait… what? She sat down in his lap?

Why was she doing that?

More importantly, why did it feel so _natural_ to her, getting so close to her partner like this?

More surprise followed as Nick wrapped his arms around her. He gave her small, calming squeezes as the usual sixty seconds worth of studio logos and future film promotions floated on and off the screen, and eventually settled his chin on the top of her head. As if upon instinct, she quickly nuzzled her head against him, before settling back down as images moved across the screen.

She had the strangest feeling of… ease. Complete and unwavering safety... like nothing in the world could even consider harming her.

Judy felt Nick move his head, bringing his muzzle down to the top of her head. His warm breath fluttered through her fur, sending a rush of comfort down her spine, before she felt him-

And in a flash, she was no longer there. The fox that was so cozily wrapping her up was replaced by a much colder blanket, and the couch they were so comfortably swaddled together on was now just her bed. Judy sat up and tepidly glanced around the dark room - that eerie feeling that something was missing continuing to creep up on her.

' _Geez, what was that all about?'_ she thought as she rubbed her temples. Why did she just have a dream about her and Nick _snuggling up_ together? Apparently her head injury had knocked a few more screws loose than she previously thought.

What had surprised her the most about the dream was just how _familiar_ it had all felt. She had an astonishing sense of deja vu from the whole experience, but she couldn't pin down _why_. Unless ...

Could it have been it been a _memory_ instead? The memories that had come back previously were just as clear as this dream was.

' _C'mon, Judy. That couldn't have been a memory. That'd just be… uh… you would never… He's a_ _ **fox**_ _! I mean, really! There was no way you'd actually do_ _ **that**_ _with your partner… your warm, fluffy… musky…'_

' _Okay, not helping! He's your friend, for cripes sake!'_

As she tried to shake her head clear of these intrusive thoughts, her mind once again turned back to Nick. Was he in the apartment? Had he gone out again? Was he even nearby? That loud, nagging voice in her head was telling her she needed to make sure, _now_.

Slowly getting out of bed, she moved as quietly as she could into the living room of the apartment. She let out an audible sigh of relief when she saw her fox, lying on the pull-out couch, a pillow wrapped up in his arms, and a small smile spread across his muzzle. He looked as if he were in a state of euphoria.

She had to mentally scold herself as that weird part in the back of her mind told her that the pillow he was holding was rather lucky. Perhaps she could slide it away and… Again, she shook her head free from those thoughts.

What's gotten into her recently? She'd been able to control stuff like this much better than the average bunny back in the Burrows, much to the dismay of any "boyfriend" she'd had at the time. So why were things this much more difficult with Nick, a _fox_ of all things? She'd never had a thought like this about a mammal of another species, let alone about her own kind's historical natural enemy. Of course, she'd _heard_ about mammals who were attracted outside of their species, but she'd never given much thought to it herself. Truth be told, she hadn't given much thought to romance much at all.

But it wasn't so much the attraction that worried her. It was the intensity and overwhelming _familiarity_ of it all that confused her most. There was just no reason for it.

' _Guess things like this just happen when your head smashes through a windshield at forty miles per hour.'_

Judy quickly glanced at the clock. 2:26 AM. If she made a habit of getting up _this_ early, she'd definitely crash and burn by lunch. She supposed a midnight snack would have to help her fall back asleep. Unlike yesterday morning, she _did_ actually mind if something interrupted her plans for a morning jog again. Of course, she'd never meant to go out _this_ early.

And unlike the previous night, she was much more content with just grabbing herself a carrot and heading back to bed, rather than with having a bit of fruit juice.

Taking one last lingering look at Nick's peacefully sleeping form, she dashed back to her bedroom, munching on the carrot.

' _Seriously Judy._ _ **Nick**_ _of all mammals? Fantasizing about him like that just seems like a violation.'_

With a final chomp on her snack, Judy crawled back into bed feeling a bit guilty. She really did like carrots. All the more ammunition for Nick to tease her.

But for some reason, Nick teasing her was different. She almost _wanted_ him to. And she couldn't help wonder if-

' _No, Judy … if he thought about you like that, he'd have said something by now.'_

As Judy nodded off, she wondered what she'd dream about this time. A part of her hoped for something warm, soft, and russet.


	7. In Vino Veritas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zootopia is property of Disney.

_Smart._

_Strong._

_Dependable._

_Caring._

_Beautiful._

These words cycled endlessly through Nick's mind, as the fox took brief glance at the bunny next to him, who was idly staring out the taxi's window.

The rest of the week had been going decently so far. Not great, because no further breakthroughs were made. Not awful, because Judy was still in his life. Not amazing, because she still didn't know just how much she meant to him.

But she was still with him, so Nick couldn't complain all that much. Judy had spent the majority of the past few days studying the police textbooks, as well as going over any information she hadn't covered with Nick. He knew she wouldn't know _everything_ come Monday, but she would definitely put any fresh-faced recruit to shame.

And so that Friday - even though she wasn't _technically_ an officer at the moment - Nick felt it would be good to take Judy to the spot many of her colleagues went to relax at the end of a long, stressful week. The bar was called Duffy's, and was well known for being the precinct's official hangout spot for a half-dozen years or more. So when Nick joined the force, he was shocked to discover that Judy had never been there, not even _once_. She'd made the excuse that she was always too busy with work to go out for a few drinks, which meant she just stayed at the precinct later than everyone else. But Nick worked his charms, and with a bit of persistence managed to convince Judy to find the time for a few drinks and good company.

Now, seated in the back of the taxi, Nick was twiddling his thumbs, trying to find some way to distract his paws. He had to fight the almost instinctual reaction to reach out and clasp her paw in his while they sat in the back seat. He of course _hated_ the fact that he had to do this, but until either A) Judy's memories eventually returned, or B) She _somehow_ gained feelings for him again, it was just something he had to suffer through, and without her having the Nighthowler case to help bond them together, he found the latter scenario very unlikely. And really, he couldn't help but think it was a fluke the first time anyway. The luckiest fluke of his life, but a fluke nonetheless.

That of course, didn't mean he shouldn't try. The very last thing he wants is to just give up on Judy. As long as he continued to be there for her, in whatever way he could, it would be enough.

As the taxi slowed to a halt outside of Duffy's, Nick let out a small sigh, hoping that things would go well inside. Judy had already met several of her co-workers when they came to visit her while she was in the hospital. Not everyone, but enough that she shouldn't feel like a complete stranger inside. Nick put on a cheery face and turned to Judy.

"Here we are, Carrots. No better way to meet the rest of you colleagues than with a slight buzz, am I right? In Vino Veritas!" Nick said, nudging her side. She hummed in amusement while opening the car door.

"That depends on if by 'slight buzz' you mean 'laugh at the occasional unfunny joke', or 'puke your guts out in the bathroom'... If it's the former, then yes, you _are_ right."

"And what if it's the latter?" the fox asked.

"Then I expect things will be _very_ awkward at the precinct come Monday."

Nick gave a light chuckle as he handed the driver the fare for the ride, before moving out of the taxi with Judy. "In that case, do your best to not to go drinking with Francine for too long. She has a good tolerance for the stuff, and that's not just because she's so large." he said.

"Really? She didn't seem like _that_ back in the hospital." Judy said with a furrowed brow.

"What? Oh, no, she's not some drunk or anything. I literally mean she just has a natural tolerance to alcohol. Always been able to out-drink anyone, even other elephants like Trumpet. The point is, she'll probably try to get you to have a few more shots than you can handle, and I do _not_ want to have to carry a giggly bunny back home over my shoulder again."

That was a lie. He'd love nothing more.

Judy hummed again in response. "Again? Is there something you're not telling me, Mr. Foxy?"

"We may or may not have had our share of embarrassing drunken adventures in the past…" Nick drawled, "But I guess it's a little unfortunate that only _one_ of us can remember them right now, eh? Works out for me though, you don't remember any of _my_ moments and I remember _all_ of yours!"

"That's cheating!" Judy protested, placing her paws on her hips.

"Cheating? Why I never! How dare you insinuate that I would _ever-"_

Nick was interrupted by a playful punch.

"Okay, Slick. You win, for now. But if _I_ have to drag an unconscious fox back home by his tail, you won't be hearing the end of it for awhile."

"Deal."

The pair opened the door to the bar, and were met with the sound of classic rock blasting through the jukebox speakers, glasses clinking, and the loud murmurs of conversation echoing through the whole place. It wasn't the fanciest joint by any means - the walls were nothing but bricks and every week at least two of the lights were burnt out - but police officers got a 15% discount there, so you could bet that there was no place they'd rather go. But most importantly it was full of energy and lively, a great place for the officers to blow off some steam.

Nick quickly eyed at least eight of his fellow officers all gathered around a large table, each of them with various drinks nearby. Not enough to get wasted by any means, but enough that many of them will be stumbling home, not driving.

Clawhauser noticed them first, and excitedly waved them over to two empty seats beside him.

"Nick! Judy! Glad you two could make it! How goes the studying, Jude?" the cheetah asked as sunnily as ever.

Nick saw Judy freeze up for a moment once she noticed all eyes were now on her. She'd spent the vast majority of her time since she got out of the hospital with Nick, so it made sense that she would be a bit nervous around the other officers, even though she'd already met some of them. He knew that wouldn't hold her back though, as within seconds her usually peppy smile returned.

"It's uh ... it's been going pretty well so far. I just hope I'm ready by Monday."

"Oh, _please_. You're gonna run circles around _everyone_. I'd like to see Nick try and keep up." Clawhauser said, sending a smirk Nick's way.

"It won't be hard to keep up when she has keep running back to me for answers, Ben. There's only so much she can learn in one week." the fox replied.

"No faith in your partner, Wilde?" Wolford said. "If I remember right, she always had to help _you_ out when you first joined up."

"Yeah, and that was when she had a full year of experience. Now it's just gonna be a weird role reversal thing. It's _my_ turn to show _her_ the ropes."

Before Wolford started to speak up, Nick noticed a pair of large, sandy colored ears pop up from behind the bar, and let out a soft smile.

"Ah, hold that thought, Wolford. Gotta go say hi to an old friend real fast." Nick said, taking a quick look at Judy, who thankfully gave him a small nod, ensuring him that she'd be fine on her own.

Getting up from his chair and sauntering over to one of the bar stools, Nick let out a whistle as he sat down.

"Uh, I don't think you're allowed to be back there, little fella. That stuff is for grown ups, you know. Where's your dad at anyway?"

The pair of ears stopped moving, before the their owner climbed up on top of the counter, glaring at Nick.

"That joke was never funny, and somehow gets _less_ funny every time you say it, you know that, right?" Finnick groused.

"Yes I do, and your reaction is _exactly_ why I keep doing it, Finn."

Nick's old partner had been working at Duffy's as one of the bartenders for around three months now, a little less than the time Nick had spent on the force. Ever since the fox gave up the hustle, his smaller ex-partner had been having trouble working any cons effectively. He was no amateur by any means - he'd been working cons for nearly his entire life - but he always said Nick had a natural talent for it. With Nick out of the picture, it wasn't long before Finnick was forced to find some more legitimate work, as the _less_ legitimate work was no longer paying well enough. And there was a part of Nick that suspected that Finnick had been just as tired of being on the other side of the law as his former partner had been.

But after hearing Finnick was struggling to find a job, Nick had told him about how Duffy's was looking for new bartenders. Finnick told Nick he was crazy for suggesting that a mammal with his kind of record should get a job where he'd be so close to a bunch of cops. Nick persisted and - with the help of a very exuberant bunny - Finnick's less than sterling record didn't matter. The fennec had always been able to mix a mean drink, so he was hired on the spot once he demonstrated his considerable skills. Once it became clear that this job was going to stick, Finnick even went so far as to replace his forged bartending license with a real one.

Nick hadn't talked to Finnick in about a week now, as he was too busy making sure Judy was adjusting to everything okay. Nick would never admit this to Finnick, but he missed talking to the older, grumpier fox. His gruff demeanor always amused Nick.

"How's the bar been? Still struggling to reach the taps?" Nick quipped, deepening the scowl from Finnick.

"You want me to bite your face off?" Finnick said as he began to clean one of the glasses, reaching his arm all the way inside.

"No, sir." Nick replied with mock fear in his voice. "But for real, Finn. You been alright? We haven't talked in awhile."

"Hell, I'm doin' fine. You're lookin' better yourself. Finally starting to get some sleep again?"

"Yeah. Having Carrots back has certainly helped."

"I bet. Have you…" Finnick started, looking quizzically at Nick.

"Have I what?" Nick asked evasively.

"You know damn well what I mean, Wilde. Have you told that bunny anything yet?"

Nick let out a groan. He knew Finn was going to ask this at some point, but he at least wanted to have something in his system first.

"No, I haven't, and I don't plan to until the right moment comes along. She didn't feel that way about me when we first met, so why the hell would she now?" he said in a lowered voice.

"Ah, you never know. Something might've been left over from all those _good times_ you gave her. Hey, that gives me an idea… What if you tried jogging her memory in a _different_ way?"

"Finn…" Nick began, but the fennec quickly resumed his scheming.

"Come on, hear me out, Nick. Just show her how much you two _loved_ each other, and shit like that. Just get all smooth like you do and just f-"

"Finn!" Nick quickly blurted, stopping his friend before his words got any more vulgar. "That is probably the _worst_ possible way I could deal with this. I need to give her time, not… _that_."

"Nicky, think about it! Like, the worst thing that could happen is she has a really, _really_ good first date."

"No, Finn. The _worst_ thing that could happen is that she ends up thinking I'm a huge creep who just wants to get her in bed. Then she resigns, moves back to the Burrows, and I never see her again. Not even the slightest chance that she'd remember everything about us would make that risk worth it. So please, _drop it_." Nick said, leaning forward in his seat. Finnick's face resumed its unamused expression as he finished cleaning the glass. "And pour me a shot of Jack Savage's, would ya?"

"Whatever, Wilde. But don't act like you don't want to get in her _burrow_ again."

"Really, Finn?" Nick scoffed, "I just want my bunny back, ok? And that's something I can deal with on my own. Just pour me a drink, for Reynard's sake, and shut up."

Finnick obliged, hopping off the counter to go find the bottle in question. As Nick reached up and rubbed his temple, he heard a pair of heavy pawpads scurry over the bar.

"You still haven't told her, Nick?" he heard Clawhauser ask over his shoulder.

"Geez, not you too Ben. Finn pelted me enough about this already." the fox said, annoyed.

"Well he's right to be doing that! You know I've never seen a cuter couple anywhere! It'll break my heart to not see you two together."

"Keep your voice down. I don't want any of the other officers to know about this. You've already told enough people. Francine was the last person you let it slip to, right?"

"Yeah… Francine…" The cheetah nervously said, putting on the fakest smile one could imagine.

"God, Ben. Really?" Nick said, returning his paw to his forehead.

"Okay, okay. Maybe I told Delgato about it, but it was just an accident."

"Right. Just like Fangmeyer was an accident. And Wolford. And McHorn. And Francine."

The cheetah lowered his head, a sad look appearing on his face.

_Come on, Nick. Don't be so hard on him. He has to gossip, he's Clawhauser. It's like asking a wolf not to howl every now and again._

"Look, I'm sorry, Ben. This has just been stressing me out a lot, and I just don't want Judy to hear about it before I get the chance to properly explain it to her, alright?"

Clawhauser's face regained some of its normal cheer, and a smile spread across his muzzle.

"Don't you worry Nick. My lips are sealed." He said, doing a zipper-like motion on his lips.

" _How_ many times have you told me that now, Clawhauser?" Nick asked.

"Uh… at least three, but don't worry, I mean it this time. Promise."

"I hope so," Nick snorted. "You already told everyone not to mention a _thing_ to Judy, right?"

"Yep. They won't make a peep." the cheetah finished, before running off back to the table the other officers were seated.

 _It's not them I'm worried about._ Nick thought as he let out a long sigh and allowed his head to slam onto the counter. _How the hell did Ben even find out about-_

"Yo, Nicky." Finnick said, causing Nick to raise his head from the bar.

" _What_?" Nick grumbled, his foul mood obvious. He made a mental note to try and at least _act_ happier, lest Judy gets suspicious. Nick quickly eyed the shot glass with an orange-brown liquid resting inside. He didn't say a word to Finnick, just grabbed the glass downed the shot all at once.

"You know, Wilde, if you keep looking so down in the dumps, that bunny's gonna start wonderin' what's up. Don't want her looking into things,now do we? From what you told me, once she wanted to find something out, there was no stoppin' her."

He was right. Anytime the two of them were put on a case, almost nothing would occupy Judy's thoughts until they finally cracked it. If she got it in her head that there was something Nick wasn't telling her, it would only be a matter of time until she brought it into the light.

 _It'd be best if I keep up appearances tonight._ Nick thought.

Nick got up from his seat, ready to just forget about everything for a bit and to just have a fun night.

"Thanks for the drink, Finn." he said.

"You know where to look if you want more." Finnick replied, wiping out the now-empty shot glass

* * *

Judy had to admit, she was _actually_ having fun. She'd never been the biggest fan of outings like this, where you just go to one place, sit down, and don't really do anything other than drink and talk. But this one was different. Maybe it was because she was trying to get to know (or re-know, as it were) all these mammals, and that they were actually interesting, or maybe the alcohol was stronger here than it was back in the Burrows.

Either way, Judy couldn't complain. This past week had been one of the most stressful weeks of her entire life - that she could remember anyway - so it felt amazing to just leave that all behind for a little bit, and to just bond with some nice mammals.

She'd been controlling her alcohol intake relatively well so far, just barely scratching down one bottle of beer. The rabbit could feel the beginnings of the lightheadedness that came with being tipsy, but she didn't feel like she was anywhere near to the point to where her judgement was impaired. Hopefully she would avoid that point tonight.

Nick, who was sitting on her right with a beer in-paw, was chatting idly away with Wolford - who was trying to explain to the fox just why wolves loved howling so much. Clawhauser was trying to whisper about "how cute" something was to McHorn, who couldn't have been less interested in what the cheetah was muttering on about if he tried. The elephant in the room, Francine, was now on her _sixth_ pint of beer, and claimed she barely had a buzz going. Nick hadn't been kidding. She really _could_ handle her alcohol.

Gatherings back home hadn't been like this. They'd start with one of her siblings inviting her out, telling her to "live a little" or "quit studying for a minute", and she eventually would relent and tag along. When they arrived at the spot - be it at someone's house, a bar, or out in a field somewhere - they'd pass out drinks and start chatting. It wasn't too bad all things considered, but inevitably, one of the bucks would _always_ try and make a move on her - something Judy really wasn't that interested in at the time, even with the alcohol in her system. Then she'd either have to leave because they just kept hounding her about it, or if she got lucky, they'd drop it and they could resume the night, but that almost _always_ invited another rabbit to try and gain her affections.

But now she didn't have to worry about that. She was the only rabbit at their table, so nobody would be asking her to take a walk, or start getting a bit too handsy. Sure, there were a couple other rabbits inside the bar - one of them she even thought was somewhat cute - but they didn't dare approach the table full of the larger, more intimidating mammals. Judy was thankful she didn't need to worry about any unwanted attention.

_Well, Nick's attention wouldn't be unwanted. If only he'd…_

Judy quickly shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Maybe this alcohol _was_ starting to affect her judgement, which was strange because she'd barely had any.

_Please be quiet, brain, you're not helping anyone right now._

Ever since her mind's little "episode" with her and Nick cuddling up, she's had the occasional odd thought, but nothing as intrusive as the thought that _just_ crossed her consciousness. Something like "That shirt looks nice on him", or "His eyes look pretty", or "I have to hug that tail!"

Okay, that last one was probably the worst of it. But the point was, her mind was a little less than clear right now, so she should probably set a limit on her drinks, lest her inhibitions drop to the point where she made a fool of herself.

"Hey, Jude?" she heard Clawhauser whisper to her left.

"Huh?" she said, as her eyes and ears turned towards the cheetah, who leaned in close.

"So …. " The cheetah was practically purring, "What do you think about Nick so far?"

"Well... He's been nothing but helpful the entire week, so he seems like a good guy to me."

"Okay, sure. But what do _think_ about him, not just think, but _think_ , you know?"

"Uhh… yeah? He's ah… he seems pretty smart. And funny. Very witty. He certainly knows his way around the city. He's pretty h-"

 _Handsome._ She was about to call Nick - her partner - handsome, right here in front of all these mammals.

"Er … Handy. Yes, um … One of the cabinet door in the apartment fell off the hinges yesterday, and he was able to fix it all by himself in a few minutes."

Judy laughed nervously, hoping that she'd recovered quickly enough.

"Oh really? Is there… anything _else_ you've been _thinking_ about him?" he continued, a mischievous glint in the cheetah's eyes.

There was no way Judy was going to let anyone else know about those thoughts. She just knew they'd somehow manage to find their way to Nick's ears, and then things would get _real_ awkward between the two them. She didn't want to start a workplace scandal before she even started her first day.

"Nothing worth mentioning. And I suppose I'll see what kind of cop he is this Monday, right?" she said with a chuckle, which Clawhauser returned.

"Hehe, yeah, you will… Don't you worry, though. You'll do fine, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks, Clawhauser."

The cheetah beamed at her, before turning back to McHorn, who let out a groan as Clawhauser once again began his gossip.

"Yo, Carrots?" Judy heard to her right, and she turned to face the admittedly handsome source.

"Yeah?"

"Is that all you've had?" Nick asked, pointing to her bottle the was just nearly empty.

"Yeah, I've never been a big fan of drinking. The taste is just so awful and-"

"Oh, well you've never- er… don't remember trying Finnick's "Fiery Fennec", then. I have no idea how, but that thing has so much _flavor_ to it, after it's finished burning through your throat. Hey Finn! Bring Carrots one of your Fiery Fennecs, would ya?" Nick yelled to the grumpy bartender, who gave him a quick nod and hopped down from the counter.

"What is it?" Judy asked, perplexed.

"Hell if I know. Finn said it uses something with cinnamon, and then adds some kind of honey in afterwards. Burns like hell in your throat, but once you get it down, that aftertaste is _so_ worth it. Might take a minute or two for it to come out though.

And right he was. After a few minutes, the fennec walked over to their table carrying a glass in his arms, with an almost blood red liquid inside.

"Good luck, bunny. This thing has a hell of a kick to it." the fennec said, handing the glass to Nick, who placed it right in front of Judy.

As she took hold of the glass, the entire table turned to face her, their grins revealing their growing anticipation.

"This isn't some prank you guys pull on rookies, is it?" Judy asked.

"Nah. We just want to see your face when the fire hits you." Francine said.

"We'll get to the pranks on Monday." Delgato said, causing laughter to erupt around the table.

Judy gulped, bracing herself, before taking a small sip from the glass in her paws.

Her tongue felt like it was set on fire, followed quickly by her throat. She tried to control the faces she was making as best she could, but judging by the giggles everyone was giving her, she must've been doing a poor job of it.

"Easy there, Carrots. The flavor hasn't even hit you yet, and this thing is a little expensive, so don't go wasting it, now. You're lucky I'm paying for this one. " Nick said, patting her gently on the shoulder.

Suddenly, it hit her. That flavor, that sweetness that was so powerful, considering what had just followed before it. It was amazing.

"And there's the flavor. How're you liking it?" Nick asked.

"Wow. This actually tastes _good_." she said, quickly taking another sip, experiencing that same burn before the sweetness returned. If she'd known back in Bunny Burrow that alcohol could have been enjoyable, she would've gone out with her siblings more often.

"Told ya'. Unfortunately if you want another one, you're gonna have to pay for it yourself. I'm not made of money. Well, not anymore, at least." Nick said with a smirk.

"Huh. And here I thought you were such a gentlemammal, Nick. Not paying for your date's drinks." Judy responded with a smirk of her own.

If Judy hadn't been staring so intently at Nick, she would have missed the briefest flicker of surprise cause Nick's smug smile to waver ever so slightly.

"Oh? So that's what this is now … a date? Well! I guess I won't be taking you back home then, considering how rude you're being." he replied with obvious mock hurt.

Judy giggled, and idly noted that she was feeling nice and warm all over.

"We live in the same apartment, Slick. You'll be taking me back home whether you like it or not."

Judy's face froze as she noticed the snickers coming from everyone else.

Maybe she'd had a bit too much to drink after all. But then a broad smile lit up her face, and Judy couldn't help but laugh along.

Ah, screw it. She needed to let loose a little. A bit more wouldn't hurt.

* * *

As it would turn out, taking your girlfriend - who was currently suffering from retrograde amnesia - out drinking with all of her colleagues who she couldn't remember in the slightest _actually_ made for a pretty enjoyable evening.

At least, it did for Nick. This was, in part, due to the fact that they were _his_ colleagues too. Judy seemed like she had fun as well, but judging by her stumbles as she walked out of Duffy's, she _might_ have had a bit too much fun.

"You enjoy yourself tonight, Carrots?" Nick asked her after he checked the time. Well after midnight.

"Absolutely! I've never had that much fun going out to a bar b-before." she said, moving up beside him to punch his side playfully. Nick had to agree with her:tonight had been one of the most entertaining nights he'd had going out with the others in quite sometime. The only thing that would've made it better, though, would've been if he and Judy got back home, where he could scoop her up in his arms and carry her off to-

Okay, maybe he'd had a bit too much to fun as well. Thoughts like that certainly wouldn't help improve things with Judy.

Nick quickly hailed a cab, which pulled over to the side of the road. He opened the door for Judy, who climbed slowly inside and adjusted herself into the seat, resting her head against the opposite door. Nick then entered the cab himself, giving the driver their address and sitting back in his seat. He felt the car start to pull forward, and he began to let his mind wander.

Things weren't exactly going fantastic for the fox. They weren't bad, not anywhere near. Hell, compared to the first thirty years of his life, things were incredible. But there was just one thing missing.

And as strange as it sounded, that "thing" was sitting right next to him with her head slumped up against a car door, humming something by the Rolling Stoats.

Nick had no idea if they could ever be as close as they were again. He hoped beyond hope that they would, but there were so many unknowns and so many different variables to account for that it was impossible to determine if she even _remotely_ felt the same way.

He stole another quick glance at Judy, only to find that she had her legs now curled up close, and her eyes closed shut. She looked…

_Amazing_

_Stunning_

_Beautiful_

_Incredible_

_Astounding_

_Perfect_

These words, and so many others, cycled endlessly throughout Nick's mind as he simply watched her on the ride home. He didn't care if the driver noticed his dopey grin, he just cared that Judy was _there_ , with him, in any way.

For all Nick knew, he'd sat there for hours just watching his bunny. Judging by the fare he had to pay when the cab finally came to a halt, it had only been around ten minutes.

Rather than rouse the bunny , Nick decided he _would_ scoop her up in his arms and carry her inside after all. He had to perform quite the maneuver to open their apartment door without disturbing her, but it was one he'd practiced a dozen times before. Nick slowly carried Judy to her bedroom, tucking her in and rolling the rabbit onto her side, just to be safe.

He had an overwhelming urge to climb into bed with her. To wrap her up in his arms and never let go. As much as Nick wanted to, _needed_ to, he knew it would only end poorly. Judy may very well wake up screaming and demanding to know why he was in bed with her.

Still, he _needed_ something. _Anything_ that might help keep him stay sane for however much longer this nightmare was going to last.

Nick lowered his head so his nose was just above Judy's cheek, and inhaled deeply. He missed her scent _so much_. He could smell a trace of her from just about anywhere as long as she was in the same room, but the scent of her _up close_ was something else entirely. To Nick, it was simply intoxicating - even more so than the actual alcohol he'd been consuming all night.

The fox couldn't help himself. He lowered his head so that his cheek now touched hers, and gave her a slow, soft nuzzle. Like her scent, he'd been missing out on such intimate contact as well, and he cherished every moment of it. Especially now.

Realizing that at any moment, Judy might wake to the shocking sight of being nuzzled by a fox, Nick slowly backed away ... but not before planting a solitary chaste kiss on her cheek, and allowing his lips to linger there for several seconds.

Nick stood up begrudgingly, not wanting to disturb her sleep any further. He ran his paw down the bed as he walked towards the door, taking a last longing look at the sleeping rabbit before he exited her room.

He felt slight guilt at what he'd just done, but at the same time, he wanted to rush back in there and do it all over again, to let the feeling burrow its way into his mind and remain there until the end of his days. Nick had told himself when this all began that he could handle being "just friends" with Judy for the time being, but after what he just felt?

This was going to be much harder than he'd thought.


	8. Back to Work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. Hope that this is a nice Thanksgiving surprise for you all!
> 
> Zootopia is property of Disney.

_This is it, Judy. Your first day._

The rabbit let out a long breath to try and calm herself down as she walked through Precinct One's front door with Nick. She knew this wasn't _really_ her first day, but it may as well have been.

The fact that she even still had a job here in the first place was lucky enough. A sure sign of Chief Bogo's confidence in her, if anything. She had a big role to fill here at the ZPD: Her own.

In the morning, Judy had started off confident. An early alarm - which she was quick to shut off, as to not disturb Nick's slumber - signaled the start of her day. She went on a short jog while the sun was rising, followed by eager - if woefully one sided - breakfast chatter with her partner once she got back. He had already showered at that point, so she was able to get in without delay.

After drying herself off, Judy got her uniform ready to go. Everything was laid out on her bed; shirt, pants, vest, belt, badge. The rabbit was having trouble hiding her excitement, making a couple remarks about her not believing this was really happening, to which Nick would wryly reply from the other room, "Believe it, Fluff."

She was a cop. _Really_ a cop, and had been one for over a year now. Yet, she had only a limited idea of what to expect. Nick had given her a few pointers about the Precinct, and was going to help her relearn everything else about the job.

Despite that, she was still incredibly nervous. What if she couldn't get the hang of everything again? What if they had to let her go because she couldn't keep up, or was making mistakes that even the greenest rookie wouldn't make in a million years?

Nick had told her not to worry, but that was proving to be incredibly difficult. Losing two years of your life in the blink of an eye was bad enough - and was something she was still struggling to completely wrap her head around - but the prospect of failing at her life's dream after already achieving it filled Judy no small amount of discomfort.

But she was Judy Hopps, born trier and never one to back down. It had been a hectic week for the rabbit, but with some dedication, focus, and a bit of luck on her side, she might just be able to become the cop she once was..

Judy and Nick each gave Clawhauser a wave as the passed by, while the cheetah gave them a smile back while munching on a bowl of cereal. She didn't even know eating was permitted at the front desk.

"This way to the bullpen, Hopps." Nick said, pointing further down the hall. Judy was thankful Nick already had her back; embarrassing herself by getting lost in the precinct on her first day would make for a good story in the future, but Judy would rather go without _more_ teasing in her life. She'd gotten enough over the past week from Nick, so she was content to just stick close to the fox and let him guide her around.

_Staying close shouldn't be too difficult. He does look rather sharp in that unif- okay, thank you brain. Trying to prove to everyone that I can still do my job here, no need to keep a clear head or anything._

Thoughts like that were starting to become more frequent, more intrusive, and Judy had to wonder what kind of trouble her mind was trying to get her into. Was it intentionally trying to sabotage her? Judy certainly hoped not, because having things be awkward between her and the one mammal who was going to make sure she did her job effectively was one hell of a way to trip her up.

She took a deep breath as they entered the bullpen, clearing her mind for the coming work.

Most of the other officers noticed Judy as Nick guided her to their seats. Some gave a brief glance, a few gave her a nod, while several others said things like, "Welcome back, Judy.", "There she is!.", or "Good to have you back, Hopps." She would give them each a smile and a nod of her own, feeling a bit nervous thanks to all the sudden attention, but hopefully that would pass.

Nick stopped her in front of one of the tables, gesturing to the large chair in front of them, clearly designed for neither foxes or rabbits.

"Wait, who's chair is this … yours or mine?" Judy asked.

"Ours." Nick replied.

"What? We don't each have our own?"

"Well, when all but one of your colleagues are at least twice your size or larger, not everything is gonna fit you quite right. You should see the maneuver each of us have to do just to reach the coffee machine." he said with a chuckle.

"And we've never asked for separate chairs?" Judy questioned.

"Never bothered either of us as far as I know, but it doesn't matter all that much. Our actual desks are down the hall, and the only time we meet here is to get our assignments, and the occasional surprise meeting set up by Bogo. Besides, if you're still that same bunny I knew before, my guess is you won't really mind all that much."

"I mean… no, not really. Just a little curious about it, I guess."

"Hey, I don't want to make you uncomfortable on your first day back, Carrots. If you'd rather have separate chairs, I can pester the Chief real quick before we head out to do whatever it is we're doing today."

"Nick really, it's fine. It doesn't matter to me." She told him.

Truth was, Judy was a little nervous about sharing a chair with the fox. Though, that was mostly because she was a little nervous that she'd end up doing something stupid like scooting a little too close to him, or accidentally steal a glance at him and he'd somehow notice. If anything like that happened, she'd-

"Just can't stay away from me, can you? I don't blame you, Hopps." Nick said, giving her a playful wink before climbing up onto the chair, reaching his paw down to help her climb up. He gave her a sly smirk as she grabbed on and was lifted onto the large chair. He was surprisingly strong for his size.

_You're not making this easy for me, you dumb fox._

In an instant, her eyes went wide, her mind felt like something inside somehow snapped into place, and she began to see images once again.

 _She was in a police cruiser. No wait, she was_ **_driving_ ** _the police cruiser. She could feel the pedals beneath her feet, obviously modified to allow her short legs to reach them. A stoplight was waiting for her down the block, just waiting to turn red by the looks of it._

 _"_ _So are all rabbits bad drivers, or is that just you?" she heard to her right, turning quickly to see that it was Nick, holding a paw shaped popsicle with a smug grin plastered on his face._

_A red light was appeared in front of them, and she suddenly slammed on the brakes, sending Nick flying forward with a very audible "oomph."_

_"_ _Oops. Sorry." Judy heard herself say, voice dripping with sarcasm._

_Nick quickly returned to his normal sitting position, his popsicle now stuck against his left eye. He pulled it off and gave a light chuckle._

_"_ _Sly bunny." Nick said._

 _"_ _Dumb fox." she replied, almost like it was instinct to do so._

 _"_ _You know you love me." Nick said, leaning in towards the center console with a smile spread across his muzzle._

 _"_ _Do I know that?" she said, her voice once again heavy with sarcasm. She paused for a few seconds, causing Nicks smug expression to falter slightly. "Yes. Yes I do." she said, causing Nick's smile to return._

The images faded, and Judy suddenly realized where she was; standing on an oversized chair in Precinct One, with her fox partner sitting to her right, chatting with the rhino next to him - McHorn, if she remembers right. Even though Nick was sitting down, he still had a good inch or two on the bunny, and it was clear that she was going to have to either stand, or sit on her knees if she wanted to see over the table.

 _Another memory._ Judy thought. She couldn't exactly pin down why, but for some reason that one in particular just felt… good. It made her feel happy, and… safe? Why is _that_ what she was getting from all that?

She decided it was best to put it aside for now, at least until after Bogo finished giving out everyone's assignments.

Judy opted to sit on her knees for now, just to give her legs a bit of rest before they had to go to work. She hoped they wouldn't get assigned anything too dull, even though Nick had told her to expect as much. It was likely that they wouldn't be working on any proper cases for quite some time, and she understood why. Even though she'd devoted her entire week to studying - and she thought she knew all the material quite well - the plain and simple fact was that she essentially a rookie again, and there are a lot of things that a cop can't learn in a textbook.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Chief Bogo walked through the door, moving up to the podium at the front of the room.

"Morning everyone. Let's all quickly welcome Officer Hopps back for a moment."

The room erupted into a cacophony of hooting, roaring, hollering and shouting.

Barely a second passed before the cape buffalo blurted out. "Alright, that's enough. Now, nothing too exciting this morning, I'm afraid. We did have a small surge in burglaries over the weekend, however we're not noticing any obvious pattern in the thefts. But, I'm sure most of you won't be opposed to a bit less work on a Monday. So, let's get to it."

As the chief read of the day's assignments, Judy crossed her fingers in hopes that she would get something at least somewhat interesting. Nick has already made several bad jokes about parking duty, so she hoped that none of the officers - most of all her - would have to handle that today.

"And… Officers Wilde and Hopps. You two are on foot patrol in Savannah Central. Make sure to come see me before you head out. We have a few things to discuss."

Judy and Nick stayed in their seat while Bogo read off the rest of the assignments, the bullpen gradually becoming more empty until it was just them and the Chief.

"So, what's up, Chief?" Nick asked.

"I want both of you to understand that I'm putting a tremendous amount of faith in Officer Hopps by letting her remain on the force. This is an extraordinary situation, to put it lightly. Hopps, I recommend you let Officer Wilde take the lead on anything you may encounter out there. I don't want any complaints coming to my desk about how a certain rabbit officer was going against any important procedures or protocols. If anything like that _does_ happen, then we may have to have a discussion about your future employment."

Judy gulped at his words. The very last thing she wanted was to be fired because she made a stupid mistake out in the field.

"But, as I said, I have good faith that you will be able to handle yourself. However, each of your assignments will have to be limited for some time, so expect a lot more patrols than either of you were used to."

"Heh, considering half our job beforehand was patrols, that doesn't bode well for any excitement in the near future." Nick said giving Judy another small nudge.

"Consider yourself lucky, Wilde. After what happened to Hopps, most other officers would kill to keep their partner _an_ d have easier work for awhile. Now, here is the route in question." the buffalo said, handing a small folder to Nick. "Alright. You're dismissed."

Judy and Nick were quick to exit the bullpen, with the fox starting to lead them each to their desks.

"Hey Nick." She began. "I think I remembered something."

"Really? What happened?"

"We were in a cruiser, and you were holding a popsicle, and-"

"Pawpsicle." Nick blurted out.

"Uh… okay. Anyway, I think you said you loved me."

"W-what?" Nick said, his eyes growing wide and body stiffening slightly.

"I think you were teasing me … You said something like, 'You know you love me.' Sound familiar?"

Nick let out a sigh, followed by a small chuckle. "Yeah, yeah. That was on my first day, actually. Just hazing my new partner a little."

"If it was your first day, shouldn't _I_ have been the one doing the hazing?" Judy asked.

"Technically yes, but you know me. I do enjoy teasing you. Anyway, Officer Hopps. In the words of a weird, cute, over-optimistic bunny I once knew, you ready to make the world a better place?" Nick said, extending his fist towards the bunny.

Even though she had no recollection of ever saying that, Judy still couldn't help but smile at his words. They just felt comforting. Like everything was beginning to go back to normal, whatever that meant.

"You know it." she replied, giving the fox a fist bump before they each headed off to their desks, ready to get the day started.

* * *

 

_Stay focused Nick, she's doing fine. No need to worry about her right now._

The fox had to keep reminding himself to not take a worried glance at Judy every time they rounded a new block. He wasn't really concerned that she'd do anything wrong, but that she'd… changed in some way. Back before the accident, she always tried to keep a positive attitude during patrols, even though she too found them incredibly dull. If she didn't keep that same demeanor that she once had, maybe other things could've changed about her as well.

Like an attraction to a certain fox she'd come to know.

He shook his head clear once again. He'd seen no sign so far that she thought about him in that way, and until she does - _if_ she ever does - Nick had to keep quiet about it, or he'd risk weirding her out and ruining everything.

So far she seemed to be attentive and eager, ready for anything that might come her way. As long as she could stay that way until at least noon, Nick thought that she'd be okay, at least for today.

The fox found his mind wandering back to what Judy had said after Bogo gave them their patrol. She'd remembered that little moment they'd had on Nick's first day as an officer. He'd played it off as a little friendly banter between two partners when he explained it to her, but the truth was a bit more complicated.

At that point, Nick and Judy had known each other for a little over a year. They'd spent a lot of their free time together after Bellwether's arrest, with each of them making the decision to become roommates around two months after. Nick had been planning on moving out of his place for awhile, and Judy's landlord began to up the rent to ludicrous prices for what she was getting, so the timing was perfect for both of them. They had become fast friends during the Night Howler incident, but while they waited for Nick's application to the ZPD to finally go through Nick quickly found Judy was the best friend he'd ever had. But it wasn't until Nick began his training at the ZPD academy that he began to realize a few things.

He first noticed that he immediately missed spending time with Judy. A lot. It was like a dull ache, that only seemed to disappear when he and Judy talked over the phone or texted each other at night, catching up on the others day and just talking about any old thing they felt like.

And whenever things got tough, he found himself using her as motivation to power through. Having trouble remembering the exact procedure one should take when encountering evidence of domestic violence? _"_ _Study harder, Judy's going to need you when something like this comes around."_ Muscles starting to ache a bit too much after the daily workouts? _"_ _Tough it up. If Judy could do it, you sure as hell can. She's gonna need you in peak condition once you get out in the field."_ Can't make it over the ice wall? _"_ _Well, we're not going to encounter any walls of ice in the city, but still, do it for Judy."_

Finally, whenever the two of them talked over Muzzletime, he found he couldn't stop staring into those beautiful violet eyes, often times completely zoning out and entirely forgetting what Judy had said. He had to fight just to stay focused, and when they were done talking and they'd said their goodbyes, he often wondered what was happening to him. Why the heck was he thinking this way about a _bunny_?

Nick wasn't entirely sure why he'd said what he did on his first day. Maybe it was so he could have some sort of hope that she felt the same way, or maybe it was to let her get the hint so she could reject him, and he could move on. As if anyone could ever move on from someone like Judy.

How often had he considered telling her, only to reel at all the ways _that_ could go badly? Judy was the best friend he'd ever had, the only mammal since his mom and dad who saw him for who he really was - And he'd sooner die than do anything to mess that up.

It was a stroke of dumb luck that they'd gotten together, really … That night. That incredible night. What Nick wouldn't give to relive it. How desperately he hoped he _could_.

He couldn't believe it when the words slipped out of her mouth.

Nick thoughts were abruptly halted when he felt something suddenly pulling on his neck, causing him to let out a small gag. He quickly came to his senses, realizing that Judy had tugged hard on his tie, preventing him from walking right into a busy street.

"Jeez, careful Nick! _You're_ supposed to be looking after _me_ , remember?" Judy said, adjusting Nick's tie so that it was back in it's normal position.

The fox let out a nervous chuckle. "Heh, sorry. Got a little bit lost in my own thoughts I guess."

"Well, try to stay focused! We're supposed to be on patrol, keeping an eye out for anything that might need our attention."

"Let me tell you right now Carrots, out of all the days we've spent doing foot patrols, only two of them have ever resulted in an actual arrest. The rest of them are either spent helping tourist, or drinking coffee. Maybe we spot a car accident if we're lucky."

"Don't be so negative, Nick. Think of all the bad things that could happen if we weren't here."

"You know, that sounds pretty negative in itself, Carrots. I'm not saying we shouldn't be doing the job. Someone has to do it. Just so happens that someone is going to be _us_ for a little while. And by the way, those two arrests I mentioned? I was the one that spotted each one. You've got those ears on you, but there's no way you're beating my eyes. You've got a bit little catching up to do. Sly fox - 2, Dumb bunny - 0."

"Heh. Isn't it dumb fox and sly bunny?" Judy asked.

"Eh, either one. So- you remember that, do you?"

"It may or may not have been part of that memory I told you about." she replied.

"Alright, well let's say you accidentally spill coffee on yourself one morning. What would that make you? A dumb bunny." Nick said with a smirk.

"And if you weren't paying attention and started to walk out into traffic? What would that make you?"

"A dumb fox. See? You're getting the hang of it already. You'll be back to normal in no time." The fox said, causing Judy to let out a huff of air.

"Heh, we can certainly hope can't we? In fact, I think I'm already on my way." Judy said with her own smirk.

"Oh?" Nick asked, wondering what the rabbit was getting at.

"Well, if you'll look over there…" she began, pointing across the street to the parking lot. "You'll notice that someone appears to be breaking into a car."

Nick turned to look at the parking lot, eyeing the car in question. A brown weasel was exiting the car through a broken window, though probably not by him, as there was tape suck around the edges and a thin plastic sheet lying on the ground. Clearly a lazy patch job done by the vehicle's owner. A wallet that was much too large for a weasel was being held in his paws. Upon further inspecting, Nick was able to clearly make out who it was.

"Alright, the sly bunny reveals herself at last. Let's get him. Just follow my lead, alright?"

"Right behind you." Judy said with an affirming pat on Nick's arm.

The two officers crossed the street, walking fast towards the thieving weasel.

"Dukie, dukie, dukie … You really should know not to do this kind of thing by now." Nick said as they approached. The weasel's head snapped towards them, his eyes going wide before he suddenly dashed down the sidewalk.

Judy's reaction was instantaneous, rushing after Weaselton with the great speed that bunnies were known for.

"Carrots, wait!" Nick called after her but she'd already rounded the corner in chase.

_Ugh, right. She doesn't remember how easy it is to deal with him._

If Nick knew Duke - and he most certainly did - then he would come up with the most idiotic, predictable escape path he could come up with. He was bound to loop back to that same corner he just rounded eventually, especially with Judy on his tail.

Nick placed himself at the edge of the wall, just out of sight of anyone coming down the street the weasel and Judy had dashed down a second ago. After waiting there for around a minute, he could hear feet quickly scampering towards him. Once he heard it come close enough, he stuck out his left foot, causing the Weaselton to fly forward and land flat on his face, the stolen wallet landing unceremoniously next to him. Judy was quick to follow, running up to the weasel and pulling him forcefully to his feet.

"For cryin' out- Hey, what gives Flopsy?" Weaselton said, struggling against the rabbit's tight grip.

"What _gives_ is that we caught you breaking into a car! Nick, radio the precinct so we can-"

"Ah, I don't think that'll be necessary, Hopps. Let him go." Nick said.

"What!? W-we just saw him break into a car! We have to bring him in!"

Nick said nothing as he moved closer and separated Judy from the weasel, only mouthing the words "Trust me." to her once he knew that Weaselton had no chance of seeing him.

"Now Duke, old buddy." Nick began, turning to face the weasel and bending over to pick up the stolen wallet. "Did you think that no one would notice you walking down the street with a wallet made for a wolf wrapped up in your paws? This thing would work better as a purse for you."

"Ah, what do you care, Wilde? I just needed a few extra bucks for my niece's birthday." Weaselton said.

"That's touching, really, but most mammals would've gotten the money in more honest ways that this." Nick continued.

"Ha! You'd certainly know what making money honestly looks like, wouldn't cha? How's your paycheck now? A little lighter than you're used to?"

"Oh, I make plenty enough to live on now, but that's not the point. We've caught you in the act… again. So, we _could_ drag you down to the precinct kicking and screaming, or we could make a little trade."

Nick could practically feel Judy's questionable gaze on him as the weasel considered the fox's words. He'd explain things to her, after he got what he wanted.

"Alright, alright! I can't miss Abigail's birthday again. What do you want to know?"

"There've been quite a few burglaries that've been reported lately. Makes me wonder if there might be some kind of connection between them…" Nick said, giving the weasel a suspicious look in the hopes that it would cause him to fess up.

"Don't look at me! Stuff get's stolen every day, it's not like I do all of it- er, I mean, it's not like I do any of it."

"Right, that'd be so out of character. Listen, Duke. Just answer me this. We can't see any obvious connection between the thefts. So do you know of anything that might prove a connection? Anything that is… less than obvious?"

"Well… you didn't hear this from me, but… you might want to keep an eye on this jewelry store down on Cabral street. That's all you're getting out of me."

"See, was that so hard? Now run along, and don't let us catch you getting your grubby paws on any more wallets, you got that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Damn coppas." Weaselton groaned as he walked away.

"Good to see you too, Dukie! Say hi to little Abby for me!" Nick yelled at the departing Weasel before turning to Judy, who gave him no time to explain himself.

"What the heck was that all about, Nick? We witnessed him committing a crime! We can't just let him go!"

"Sure we can. He just gave us a lead to something much bigger than just a petty theft. Why try and catch just tiny minnow when you can use them to catch a whole tuna?"

"But he… this doesn't sit right with me, Nick." Judy said. "We have a duty to stop criminals, however petty their crime might be."

"I know you don't like this, but don't worry. I doubt this is going to be the last time we catch Duke in the act. The guy's got a record as long as a giraffe's neck. You'll get your chance to bring him in, not like you haven't before."

"O-okay. Just… give me a bit of a heads up next time. We are partners after all, so anything we have to do, we should do together."

"There's my sly bunny." Nick said with a wink. "Now how about we find out who's wallet this is? I'm pretty sure they're going to want it back."

"I'm inclined to agree with you there, Slick." Judy said, her peppy smile returning to her face. It didn't take long for Nick to realize he was staring.

_Stay focused, Nick. You've got a lead to follow now._


	9. Lost and Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy some extra fluff for the holidays.
> 
> Zootopia is property of Disney

Nick Wilde had always considered himself a realist; he saw the world for what it was - nothing more, nothing less. Being an optimist was more of Judy's thing. She could always find the upside to a situation, or a positive trait in someone. Nick would be lying if he said that none of that positivity had started to rub off on him in the time he'd known her.

But for all his recent improvements in positivity, it wasn't helping him much right now.

He took a brief look at the clock inside the cruiser and let out a heavy sigh as he noted the time.

"Four hours in, and we've got nothing so far. I'm starting to think Weaselton was lying to us." Nick grumbled, turning to face the driver's seat

"A criminal? Lying to an officer? Who would've thought?" Judy said, a smug grin on her face. Nick gave her a light chuckle and an amused expression.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time. Although, it usually isn't like this. Most of the time he just lies about what he's doing when he's caught with his paw in the cookie jar. We've gotten info from him before, and it usually checks out. Heck, he's practically one of our informants at this point, albeit an unwilling one."

"So, you think he's telling the truth?"

"Only time will tell, I'm afraid."

After Nick and Judy had gotten their info from Weaselton, they'd radioed the precinct that they might have a lead on a potential robbery. They only had the word of one weasel to vouch for it, but again, this was hardly the first time they'd hustled a tip from the Duke of Bootleg.

When they got back to the precinct, Nick and Judy were assigned to stake the place out for the rest of their shift. Parked in an unmarked car with a good sightline on the store - all fairly standard stuff. This stakeout, however, would take place during the day, making it easier for anyone to notice them in the car. Luckily, the ZPD was no small town police force. It had equipment and specialists ready for almost situation within a reasonable realm of possibility.

For this stakeout, they'd gotten a plain looking silver sedan with tinted windows, _just_ dark enough to hide them, but not dark enough that it obviously stood out. The car was occupying one of the parking spots near the jewelry store, with a clear sightline on the entrance. Due to snow, it usually took a bit longer for the ZPD to respond in Tundratown, so Delgato and Fangmeyer volunteered to shift their patrol to stay nearby just in case Nick and Judy were onto something.

Precinct One's two smallest officers were settled in for the long haul. They'd each taken off their coats so they wouldn't get too hot inside the car. Nick made sure to put some snacks in the back seat for when they got hungry, and he even brought a blanket just in case the heater broke down or some other unlikely scenario that involved the cold.

Now it was just a matter of waiting, but Nick thought that they'd done enough of that once time slipped past 2 pm. As he idly glanced out the passenger window, Nick mused.

 _Couldn't Weaselton have given us a timeframe or something? If he knows something about this, surely he'd know_ _ **when**_ _the guy was planning to do it. Oh well, guess you get what you pay for … I'll have to ask a few more questions next time._

He glanced quickly back at Judy, who had her eyes still trained on the entrance, as well as any mammals passing by.

"You know Fluff, if anyone's gonna rob this place, I don't think it'll be hard to spot them."

"What makes you say that?" the rabbit asked.

"Simple, this can go one of three ways." Nick said, and held up a single finger. "One: The guy waltzes right through the front door. If he does that, no way he's gonna get that much. He'd have to threaten the owner, and break through the displays, which would trigger the alarm. Every two-bit criminal in the city knows the police would come barreling down on this shop. Instantly busted."

Nick smiled when he saw he had Judy's undivided attention, her nose twitching quickly. The fox held up a second finger and continued.

"Two: They cut the power to the place, or turn off the alarms in some way. Well, the owner would know right away, and considering we talked to the porcupine and gave him a radio linked up to this very car, I say the would-be robbers wouldn't have a whole lot of time before we nabbed them."

Nick had spent a lifetime learning to pick up a mammal's tells, but Judy was an open book: she was running through the scenario in her head, the gears turning and grinding behind her violet eyes.

"Hmhp. You put a lot of thought into stuff like this?"

"Naturally … 'know thy enemy' after all. But sadly, there isn't a whole lot we can do here but just sit and wait. Gotta stimulate the mind somehow."

"Okay, fair enough. So what's the third?"

"I'm getting there, Hopps. Don't worry your cute, fuzzy little head about it." Nick said with a smirk, earning a huff and an eye roll from Judy before he continued.

"Three: Turns out the mammal planning this is actually one of the most infamous international thieves in the whole world, and they'd get in and out without us even knowing. Now, that's rather unlikely, because this place has wedding rings and necklaces, not the Hope diamond, and _Weaselton_ was the one who tipped us off. I doubt any master criminal would work with someone like him."

"Oh really?" Judy began, crossing her arms. "I know memory isn't exactly my strong suit as of late, but didn't _you_ know him back before you were a cop?"

"Yes, but I wasn't _really_ a criminal. I just… bent the rules wherever I could. And I _never_ hurt anyone. Hell, most of my marks thought they scammed me. You're the only cop that ever came close to arresting me on anything legit."

"Right. Federal tax evasion is some pretty heavy stuff, isn't it?" she joked.

"Don't remind me. Five years jail time, I mean really…"

They continued casually teasing each other for some time. He'd make a joke about her being small, cute, or whatever bunny stereotype he could come up with. She'd make a joking about him being shifty, even once just saying 'tax evasion' to shut him up. Combined with the occasional "Sly Fox/Dumb Bunny" call and response, it almost felt like things were back to normal. Like that whole accident was just a bad dream, and Nick had just woken up.

But then he caught himself about to try to sneak a quick peck on her cheek. Then the enormity of the loss was again made plain, and Nick had to scramble to explain why he was suddenly crestfallen.

By 4 o'clock, no one had shown up. Nick slouched down in his seat so low that he could barely see out the front windshield. He was just happy that he wouldn't have to stay here at night, as they'd already scheduled another pair of officers to come in, just in case the robbers didn't show.

"Geez, this must be an exciting first day for you, huh Carrots? Sitting in a car ..." Nick said after a while.

"Are you kidding? Being in a _real_ police stakeout has got to beat foot patrols, right?" Judy said.

"I suppose. At least we didn't get parking duty." Nick grumbled before a yawn escaped his mouth.

"Easy there, Slick. You aren't going to fall asleep on me now, are you?" Judy said with small smirk.

"Believe me, I'm trying not to." Nick sat up in his seat and let out a long stretch. "I thought this would be easier to stay focused since it's daytime. The last one we went on lasted from 8pm to 4am, and that was practically _torture_."

A lazy smile spread across Nick's muzzle at the memory.

"Well … until later in the night." The fox's eyes widened slightly, his body tensing up once he realised what he just said.

_Oh no._

"Wait, we've been on a stakeout before? Well, don't hold out on me! Gimmie the details." Judy said, turning her whole body to face him.

Despite Nick's panicking, he actually had rather fond memories of their first stakeout. It was around two weeks after they had started dating, and there was a wolf wanted in connection with a known 'nip ring, and the ZPD got some good intel that he'd be pulling a deal at a warehouse in the Meadowlands that night. Nick and Judy were assigned to stake the place out. Inconspicuous car, out of sight, not unlike their current situation. By 2am, each of them were practically bored out of their _minds_. They just needed _something_ to do.

Or… someone.

Despite meticulously cultivating an air of lazy indifference, Nick took his work very seriously - and not just because he had too, what with Judy as his partner. The fox had never been more motivated to prove to himself, to the world, and most of all to Judy that he was one of the best officers in the ZPD. So he was very surprised when Judy had made the first move in the car. They were still very much in the honeymoon phase at this point, wanting to do nothing more than... well, each other. Both of them were proud to say that they weren't _completely_ unprofessional during that stakeout. Though, Judy did feel some remorse over what happened the next day, listing the various things that could've gone wrong. After that night, she'd been very insistent that they stay as serious as possible while on duty.

It started off small - she'd taken his paw, just to provide a little comfort - but gradually escalated from there. Judy eventually joined Nick in the passenger seat, which led to a bit of petting, which led to some kissing, before things had finally peaked with a few wandering paws and loosened buttons. Lucky for them, Nick had spotted the wolf in question before any clothes came off - which was very fortunate considering how _distracted_ each of them were - and they called it in. They were each relieved from their post, and may have drove a bit over the speed limit heading back to their apartment.

But now, Nick couldn't tell Judy any of _that_.

"Oh, you know. Wanted mammal, sit in a car until you see them, head home. Nothing too fancy."

"Well, what about later in the night? You mentioned something about that."

"Uh... nothing special. We... found a burrito place that was open all day, so we just… walked on in and got a good bite to eat…"

"Aww. I wanted to hear that there was a little drama…" Judy said, mildly disappointed.

 _Oh, there was, Carrots._ Nick thought.

"Oh well. Maybe we'll get a little bit later today, right?" she said, leaning over and nudging Nick's side.

"Hmph. We can hope, Carrots."

* * *

Despite the initial excitement of the stakeout, and as much as Judy hated to admit it, she was _bored._

Trying to stay focused was proving pointless, as staring away at the jewelry store's front entrance was doing nothing to stimulate her brain.

She always had something to do back in Bunny Burrow whenever she was bored. She could help her parents with some work around the house, play with some of her younger siblings, watch a movie, or read one of dozens of wolf-eared crime novels she'd collected over the years. But unfortunately, a farm full of family and friends was a lot different than a single car with a fox. Not that Nick wasn't one heck of a fox, but after so many hours of each of them doing next to nothing, pretty much _everything_ started to get dull.

Even worse, the lack of entertainment made it all the more challenging to _not_ take the occasional glance over at her partner. She just had to stay focused, and _not_ make her partner notice the fact that she was ogling him.

It'd been a bit easier to not get distracted at the start. It was mostly a combination of eagerness and excitement for her, what with her going on a stakeout on her first day. Once she realized that the jewelry store wasn't going to be robbed sometime in the next few minutes, she just started to idly chat with Nick. A few small things about his past, a few funny moments the two of them had as partners, and so on. This was able to occupy her for a few hours, but once each of them ran out conversation topics, that's when things started to get real dull, real fast.

So, her eyes naturally started to wander, as well as feel a bit heavy. It was just odd that they kept wandering towards her crimson companion.

She'd given up trying to pretend she didn't find Nick charming and handsome, a mental change that she found took almost no effort on her part. It was like slipping on a comfy shirt, and she idly wondered why.

_Seriously, what happened during the accident that suddenly made foxes a lot more appealing? Is there some sort of switch in my brain they didn't teach us about in school?_

Judy just had to hold out and hope whatever was happening inside her head would fade eventually, before she lost all control and made a fool out of herself. But try as she might, her thoughts kept turning back to the fox sitting next to her.

_I mean he probably doesn't even … couldn't even … could he?_

She released a long, drawn out yawn along with a stretch.

"Whoa, Carrots." Nick began. "Weren't you the one that was telling me not to fall asleep too long ago?"

"Yeah, I'm…" she let out another short yawn. "Sorry. I just didn't expect things to get so dull. I'm trying to stay focused, but…"

_This stakeout is boring me to death, and every time I look over at you, I just want to bury my face in your scruffy neck. I wonder how soft it is ..._

"... it's just not working out."

"Well, if you wanted to catch a few z's real quick, go ahead. I'll wake you if I see anything."

"No, really Nick, I'm fine. I just need to occupy myself with… something." She said as she began looking around the car for something that might hold her attention.

"If you say so. Just don't blame me when you're tripping over your own feet trying to catch this guy whenever he shows up." Nick said with that infuriatingly smug grin.

Judy just sat back in her seat and scoffed. It was only 5 in the afternoon. She couldn't fall asleep now if she tried. Sure, she _was_ a little tired - her eyes were feeling increasingly heavy - but she doubted she could actually doze off with this much light around.

Though, over the next few minutes, her eyes did start to feel _really_ heavy, and no matter how hard she tried, they kept on closing.

She could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness, before her head began to fall forward and she suddenly jerked it back up.

But… things weren't like she'd remembered.

For one, it was dark out now, and she doubted Nick would've let her stay asleep that long. Also, it was obvious that they weren't in the same location. The car they were in - suddenly a four door SUV - was parked inside an alleyway with a good view of an old, worn down warehouse. There also wasn't a single snowflake on the ground, so they were no longer in Tundratown.

_What is this? How did I-_

"Seven." She heard to her right. Turning to face the voice, she found it was Nick, sitting in the passenger seat with a bored look on his muzzle.

"Seven? You were on five just a minute ago. I find it hard to believe that you managed to see _two_ drunken predators since then." Judy heard a voice say. Heard _her_ voice say.

"What, you didn't see the two wolves with arms around each other's shoulders and feet stumbling all over? You bunnies. You'd think with how much you all enjoy carrots that you'd have some good eyesight. But nope. It's all 'ears and adorableness' for you guys."

"Shutup." her voice said, but in a friendly way. "I'm still winning. Nine prey to seven predators. Although, I gotta admit, I thought for sure I'd be winning this thing by a landslide. Prey outnumber predators ten to one, after all."

"I told ya, Carrots. I used to play this game with Finnick all the time. You'd be surprised by how many of us preds go out on a weeknight. There are a lot of bars in this part of town. Most of them are open all night. It's the nocturnal preds that give me the edge here."

Judy eye's were facing forward, and they took notice of an antelope stumbling on the opposite side of the street.

"Ha! Make that ten to seven. No way you're beating me, Slick." Judy said.

"Oh _no!_ I feel so inferior! Beaten in a game of complete chance by a dumb bunny." Nick said, as smug as ever. Judy's head once again turned to face him, and before she knew it her paw reached out and grasped his.

"Well, I did have a _surprise_ in store for you once we got back to the apartment..." her voice began in a sultry fashion, lightly rubbing Nick's paw before releasing it. "But, I guess I'll just save it for some _other_ sly fox."

She was _flirting_. Why was she flirting?

She felt a large paw grasp her own, only increasing the strange feelings rippling through body - a warmth that seemed to spread from her very core to suffuse every inch of her body, from her tail to the tips of her ears - not unlike the warmth of a roaring fire, but somehow even _more_ comforting.

"You know as well as I do that I'm the only dumb fox for you, sly bunny." Nick said while he rubbed her smaller paw tenderly.

Judy couldn't tell how long the two of them sat there, with paw clasp in paw, but she honestly didn't care. This just felt _right._ Like this was what she was missing.

Before she knew it, Judy began to move over to the passenger seat, wrapping her arms around Nick's torso and burying her muzzle in his neck fur. Her breath was caught in her lungs as the scent of his musk reached her nostrils, practically turning her to liquid.

"Well well. What happened to little Miss Supercop?" Nick said as he wrapped his own paws around her smaller body, pulling her into his lap.

"She's been bored out of her mind for the past six hours." she said before nuzzling back into Nick's neck, earning a low, rumbling chuckle from him.

"Fair enough. And, not to sound ungrateful here, but I hardly doubt that the chief would would consider this professional behavior."

"Um, excuse me?" she said, releasing her grip on him and leaning back so that she was sitting on her knees in his lap. "Did you just try to lecture _me_ on unprofessional behavior? The fox that likes to pinch my tail during traffic stops?"

"As I said, I wasn't trying to sound ungrateful. And besides, considering the way you fill out that uniform, I could just plead entrapment and no jury would convict."

Judy could feel the excitement building inside her, and it was _definitely_ because of Nick. That cocky smile. The way he looked in his uniform. They way he held her - firm yet gentle.

She could feel herself lunge forward, and-

"CARROTS!" .

Judy's eyes flashed open with lighting speed, taking a moment to remember her surroundings. She turned to face Nick in the passenger seat, only to see that he was now outside the car, the passenger door open and him with a "what are you doing?" look on his face.

"Come on, you got your beauty sleep, now let's go! The alarm's been sounded, and backups on the way. We gotta move!"

"But we… right... right. Let's get going." Judy said.

The rabbit opened the door and hopped out, rushing towards the jewelry store with her partner in tow, and her mind more than a little distracted.

What the hell was happening to her?


	10. Suspicions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zootopia is property of Disney

In all her life, Judy had never been more confused. When she was young she was amazed at how many different species there were, but it never really confused her - after all, children accept new things eagerly and without reservation. In her teens, she was delighted when the first smartphones came around, but she knew enough about computers and cellphones not to be mystified. Even losing her memories wasn't as strange as her current predicament.

Being a cop in Zootopia? Believable, it was her childhood dream after all.

Having brought down a major corruption scandal? Well, her dad always said she was a tryer.

Having a fox as a partner? A bit strange, but not the oddest thing that could've happened, and she'd already gotten past that initial barrier.

But being attracted to that same fox, and having all these weird dreams about the two of them in _very_ non platonic situations?

This was truly confusing. Confusing, and new, and something that she had no idea how to handle.

_Thrilling._

It had been a week since she'd had the dream about her and Nick during the stakeout. Once Nick had roused Judy from her slumber, they'd rushed inside to find a very twitchy looking young timberwolf threatening the store owner with a knife. The second he laid eyes on the two officers entering, he dropped the knife, fell to his knees, weeping about how this was the biggest mistake of his life and that he was sorry. The distraught wolf wasn't wrong, but he certainly wasn't the kind of criminal they were expecting. Nick had told Judy later that they should've expected something like that because the info came from Weaselton. After all, the weasel wasn't exactly a master criminal himself.

And just like that the case was wrapped up. Finished. No connection to the other robberies, no grand conspiracies, nothing.

So Judy had convinced herself that the dream she had was just another abnormality in her brain. A side effect of the head trauma. Nothing more. She was content to leave it at that.

Until her dream last night revealed her brain hadn't gotten the memo.

The dream had started off simple. Judy had just woken up from a peaceful, dreamless slumber, and was ready to get up and start the day. Then she felt a pair a of strong arms wrapped around her, gently holding her in place. She had turned her head to see Nick with a blissful smile on his face and his eyes shut tight. A smile came to her own face and she once again got herself comfortable, turning around and nuzzling into the soft, thick fur of his neck and chest.

Judy could believe that she could have two dreams about Nick in that way - she did kinda have a crush on him after all - but now three? And each one of them with a strange sense of familiarity and closeness and _home_?

That made her a little bit more suspicious.

The next few days at the Precinct wasn't nearly as exciting as her first. Judy and Nick were assigned desk duty for most of it, mainly to process the paperwork from her first day's arrest and work through a sizable backlog that had accrued during their absence. While the drudgery of the paperwork initially helped to quiet the rabbit's mind, it became much harder after last night, and Judy felt her attention constantly turning back to those dreams.

She glanced briefly up from the paperwork on her desk at Nick, who was sitting at his own desk across from her, equally "engaged" in his own paperwork. Despite his aura of cool indifference, Judy was surprised to find the fox was meticulous and thorough with his paperwork.

His eyes were lazily skimming the text, and he was very clearly bored, but every now and again she'd notice his mouth curve into a small smirk for just a fraction of a second, causing her heart to start pounding in her chest until she looked away.

Why was that affecting her so much? Why was Nick's _smile_ (among other things) making her go crazy?

She really was in deep on this one. Before last night she would've put it in her mind to just try to hide it and hope she'd just get over it eventually.

Now though, things were different. Judy didn't know for sure - and calling Nick out for something when she has practically no evidence is going to do nothing but embarrass herself - but maybe, just maybe, they had something happen between them before.

Maybe they had been dating. This was Zootopia, right? Mammals in the burrows might be a bit more uptight about interspecies dating, but here in the city it wasn't supposed to be a big deal.

Or maybe they'd just had a few too many drink one night and found each other's company rather appealing.

Maybe they'd just flirted now and again.

Or maybe most likely of all, none of this is true and she's just a dumb bunny that has her mind all messed up thanks to a nice hard blow to the head. She had no way of knowing for sure.

But, she always wanted to be a cop - which she now was - and that meant one day she might work her way up to a detective if she had the skills and enough determination.

This might be an opportunity to test those skills.

Again, she couldn't just ask him outright. Based on current evidence, that would just weird him out and make things awkward between the two of them, and she didn't want that. She liked Nick.

A lot.

And… maybe she was hoping he felt the same way..

But she needed to be careful. Her eagerness needed to be tempered with caution, otherwise disaster was inevitable. Asking Nick anything directly was out of the question - yes, there was a slim chance that he'd level with her after a direct inquiry, but she knew the fox was much more likely to be guarded.

And despite her suspicions, it was still very likely that she was blowing this whole thing way out of proportion and that nothing had really happened between them in the first place. If anything, she could be very subtle - probe at him - but even that had its risks. In the little over a month that she's known him - or at least remembers knowing him - he's come across as very perceptive. Quite good at reading a situation and the mammals around. It was a trait Judy admired - He'd make a good detective one day - but one that was currently a problem. Judy didn't want him finding out about any of this, lest it negatively impact their friendship..

But … that didn't mean she couldn't ask others about the past.

And Judy knew exactly who to start with:, a cheetah who seemed to subsist solely on donuts and gossip.

"You alright Carrots? You're staring into space …"

Nick's voice snapped Judy back to the present.

"Wha - oh no, I'm fine …" Judy stammered, before chiding herself internally.

_Focus, Judy. You're at work right now. You can ask Clawhauser about your fantastical romance with the fox later._ She thought, before turning her attention back to the mound of paperwork in front of her. Maybe that would help keep her focused.

It didn't.

Nick was - without any action on his part - a major distraction, and that was exactly the problem. After a few minutes she found that she couldn't focus anymore. Too busy thinking about Nick and what may or may not have happened between them before, and about a cheetah who more than likely didn't have any answers for them.

So she pushed the thoughts away and turned her focus back to the paperwork.

But the nagging thoughts taunted her: _What if the cheetah_ _ **does**_ _know something?_

And a moment later:

_Screw it._

Judy put down her pen and set the paperwork she was working on to the side before hopping down from her chair.

"Bathroom break." she said as nonchalantly as she could while she made her way towards the door.

"Huh? Oh sure … just hurry back. If I get crushed under this mountain of paperwork, I'll hold you responsible if I have to gnaw off my arm ..." Nick replied, leaning back in his chair melodramatically, earning a chuckle from Judy.

Once she found her way to the front desk, she saw the feline happily munching away at a box of donuts.

"Hey Ben." She said, hopping up onto the front desk and causing the cheetah to turn her way.

"Hey Judy! Oh, let me guess. You spotted one of these bad boys walking by and just had to have one for yourself didn't you." Clawhauser asked, pointing at the donut in his paws before taking another bite and offering the box to Judy.

"No, I uh… just had a random question pop into my head that I wanted to ask you."

" _Laundry Service_ , hands down … though _She Wolf_ comes in close second." Clawhauser said, a sudden seriousness in his voice.

"What?"

"Best Gazelle albums, silly … but that wasn't your question, was it?" the portly cheetah said with an easy laugh.

"Oh, uh … no."

"Alright, let's hear it." Ben said as he set down the half-empty box of donuts to give Judy his full attention.

"Well… I was just thinking that... has Nick seemed… _different_ lately?"

"Different? Like what?" The cat cocked his head slightly.

"Just… you know… has he acted strange to you in the past few weeks or… has he seemed not like himself at all?"

Ben brought a finger to his chin and stared thoughtfully into space.

"I mean, the only time I could really tell he was different was after your uh… accident. You could tell he was really down about the whole thing. We all were, really. You were in pretty rough shape for awhile."

"Yeah, so I've heard. Nick must've been pretty concerned…" she said, trying to coerce more out of him.

"Oh, absolutely. The way he moped around everywhere, and hardly got anything done. He was never like that before at all. In fact, he always liked to stick by you… I wonder why?" Clawhauser asked, giving Judy a small grin.

"...Uh, well… I've heard that we were, and I guess still are, pretty good friends." Judy replied.

"Yep. I guess so. Is there any, you know, _reason_ you asked me this instead of Nick?"

_Play it cool, Judy. Don't let him-_

_The wind whipping through her fur._

_The metallic jangling and twanging of the cable above her._

_Nick's voice: low, quiet, and free of its usual playfulness._

" _Never let them see that they get to you."_

"Judy? You okay?" Clawhauser said, his face filled to the brim with sudden concern.

To her credit, Judy recovered quickly from the sudden memory.

"What? Oh no, I'm fine ...you know how it is. Dumb thought that just popped into my head, Nick was busy, so I thought I'd come pester you for a bit. Speaking of Nick, I bet he would just _love_ that glazed one right there." she said, pointing to the smaller glazed donut inside the box. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Oh, not at all!" He leaned in close. "I've got another box in the break room for later." he whispered.

Judy chuckled, then grabbed the donut for Nick and said goodbye to Clawhauser before hopping down from the desk and making her way back to her desk.

_Well, that was about as useless as I thought it would be._ She thought. From what he'd told her, it seemed like Nick acted the same way anyone would if they had a close friend go through what she did. Nothing really suspicious there.

But the thing he said about Nick always liking to stick around her… what was that about? Was he trying to suggest something? Maybe he thought they'd make a good pair? Maybe he was just teasing? Does he know?

And what was it about this that suddenly triggered that memory on the gondola again?

Judy shook her head and tried to clear her head as Nick came back into view, still sitting in his desk across from her own, looking over another piece of paperwork.

Before she knew it, a smile had found it's way onto her face. Why does that keep happening?

"Look what I got from a certain cheetah at the front desk." she said, waving the treat in front of Nick's muzzle.

"Delicious, but I'm afraid I can't have one, Carrots. Spots already forced one on me this morning, and too much sugar makes for a dull coat."

An idea popped into Judy's head.

"Oh, so you're starting to care about your looks now? Got a hot date or something?"

"Unfortunately no, and I've always cared about my looks by the way."

"Suuure. That's why you always wear that godawful shirt…" she said teasingly.

"I'll have you know, that kind of shirt is very fashionable." Nick said with a mock huff of protest.

"Pffft, where? An island in the middle of the Pacific?"

"Nope. In our apartment, here at the precinct, wherever I go with it, lots of places. Admit it, you like it." A smug grin spread across the fox's muzzle.

"Uh-huh. Let's just agree to disagree, then." she said, sitting back down at her desk, desperately trying to ignore how her heart started to race when she saw Nick's smile.

"Jeez, Carrots. Wanting to fatten me up, insulting my style… you're trying to pass me up as the best looking officer in the precinct, aren't you?"

She let out a huff before grabbing another stack of papers. "Spot on, Slick. Nothing gets by you, does it?"

"Nope. Best looking, _and_ best performing officer in the precinct."

She looked up at him with a small smirk.

"Okay, _maybe_ someone else has that title. But we can't all be cute bunnies ..."

Normally she would've been slightly offended if someone called her cute, but for some reason it felt different with Nick. Probably because she knew he was just teasing her.

With a small huff, she turned her attention back to her paperwork, content with hopefully getting most of it done before lunch.

And then her eyes started to wander upwards to the fox in front of her again.

She would be lucky if she even got half of it done.


End file.
